Updated Packers MVP Standings

The regular season is now over, but that doesn't mean the MVP race is over. The playoff still count for these standings, AND the point values double so the playoffs could really make or break these races. Three games have been played since the last time we took a look, so lets get to it

At Chicago Bears: James Jones gets the obvious nod here with three touchdown receptions. Well give half point to Rodgers for three TD passes, Heyward for a pick, and Clay Matthews for a pair of sacks.

Vs Tennessee Titans: Rodgers has to get the full point here for a great game. Ryan Grant gets a half point for 80 yards and a pair of TDs. Hawk gets a half point for two sacks.

At Minnesota Vikings: For the third game in a row Rodgers makes an appearance, getting the point again with four TD passes.

Standings through the regular season
Randall Cobb: 4 points
Erik Walden: 1  point
Jermichael Finley: 0.5 points
Jordy Nelson: 2 points
Morgan Burnett: 1.5 points
James Starks: 0.5 points
Mike Daniels: 1 point
Aaron Rodgers: 6 points
Mason Crosby: 1 point
Dejuan Harris: 0.5 points
Davon House: 1 point
Tim Masthay: 1 point
Clay Matthews: 1.5 points
Tramon Williams: 0.5 points
John Kuhn: 0.5 points
AJ Hawk: 2 points
James Jones: 4 points
Cedric Benson: 0.5 points
Alex Green: 0.5 points
Casey Heyward: 2 points
Ryan Grant: 0.5 points

On the running back category we have Ryan Grant, Alex Green, Dujuan Harris, James Starks, and Cedric Benson. Five running backs! what a strange season.

NFl Wild Card Round Picks

I went 11-5 in the final week of the season, giving me a final record of 162-94 in the regular season. But its playoff time now, and my one life dream is to have a perfect 11-0 postseason record. Its incredibly unlikely it will happen this year though, as this figures to be one of the most wide open races ever, particularly in the NFC, where I can make a legitimate case for all six teams to be in the super bowl. Its a little less open in the AFC in my opinion, I don't think any of the four teams playing wild card weekend in that conference can go on the road and win in New England or Denver, but we'll see. Heres the picks

Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans: The Texans are the epitome of a team playing their worst football going into the postseason. All season long they've looked like they would take the number one seed, and then on the last weekend they slip all the way to 3. Laying an egg at home to Minnesota, then losing at Indy is not the way you want to go into the playoffs. Not only that, the two biggest games they've played all season, Vs Green Bay and at New England, they played awful football both times. The Bengals meanwhile, are in the playoffs for a second straight year without really impressing anyone. Last year they did it beating up on weak teams while they lost to the good teams, so its understandable they were ignored, but there run was more impressive this year. As it stands, they haven't won a playoff game since 1990, before I was even born. Do I think it will happen this year? not quite, I still think Houston manages to get a playoff win this year, despite their awful play recently. Houston 27 Cincinatti 20

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers: For the second time in four seasons, the Packers will play the same team in the wild card round that they played in week 17. The Packers lost a first round bye by losing to the Vikings today, which means a divisional round game against the 49ers would now take place in San Francisco rather than Lambeau. But first they need to get by the Vikings, who really scare me to death. The Packers SHOULD win this game. A home game where you have the superior QB is a game you should win. But Adrian Peterson is simply stunning, and he scares the crap out of me. I do think the Packers end up winning though, they are at home, they are more experienced, and beating a team two weeks in a row is very hard to do, especially a team as good as the Packers. Packers 31 Vikings 21

Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens: The Colts are an emotional team, and that can never be underestimated, and the Ravens are struggling a little bit heading into the playoffs. I feel wrong picking three straight home teams, but I really think the Ravens find a way to win a playoff game at home. I will also make the prediction this will be the ugliest game of the week. Ravens 23 Colts 16

Seattle Seahawks at Washington Redskins: The rookie QB battle. I like Washington in this game, but I am begging, hoping beyond hope, pleading with all my might for a Seahawks-Packers Championship game at Lambeau. I feel wrong picking the Seahawks to win a road playoff game, but Ill do it, against my better judgement. Seahawks 28 Redskins 24

I don't feel all that great about my picks this week, but Ill stand by them, not counting on this being the year for 11-0 though.

NCAA Basketball Big Ten Week one picks

A lot of posts are forthcoming over the next 24 hours. First this one, then part 3 of the best games of the Aaron Rodgers era, then my picks for the wildcard games next weekend, and an updated look at the Packers MVP standings. Not necessarily in that order, but look for all that over the next day. The Big Ten basketball season starts tomorrow, it will go on for 70 days, or ten weeks, and it should be a fun and wild race this year. Ohio st, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan st, and Indiana all have reason to believe they can be a force in the conference this year. Purdue and Iowa are the next tier. Not pushovers, but probably not quite tournament worthy, and Nebraska, Penn st and Northwestern are the bottom tier of the conference this year. This first picks edition will be for games played December 31st - January 6th.

December 31st
Michigan st at Minnesota: Pick: Minnesota
Indiana at Iowa: Pick: Indiana

January 2nd
Nebraska at Ohio st: Pick: Ohio st
Illinois at Purdue: Pick: Purdue

January 3rd
Michigan at Northwestern: Pick: Michigan
Penn st at Wisconsin: Pick: Wisconsin

January 5th
Purdue at Michigan st: Pick: Michigan st
Ohio st at Illinois: Pick: Ohio st

January 6th
Iowa at Michigan: Pick: Michigan
Northwestern at Minnesota: Pick: Minnesota
Wisconsin at Nebraska: Pick: Wisconsin

NCAA Bowl Picks 12/26-12/29

I went 5-2 in my first batch of bowl picks.

Western Kentucky at Central Michigan: Pick: Central Michigan
San Jose St at Bowling Green: Pick: San Jose st
Cincinnati at Duke: Pick: Cincinnati
Baylor at UCLA: Pick: UCLA
Ohio At LA Monroe: Pick: Ohio
Rutgers at Virginia Tech: Pick: Virginia Tech
Minnesota at Texas Tech: Pick: Texas Tech
Rice at Air Force: Pick: Air Force
West Virginia at Syracuse: Pick: West Virginia
Navy At Arizona st: Pick: Arizona st
Texas at Oregon st: Pick: Oregon st
TCU at Michigan st: Pick: TCU

Top 12 Packers games of the Aaron Rodgers era part two

9. 2012 Week 15 Packers at Bears W 21-13. With a win in week fifteen over the Chicago Bears the Packers clinched their second division title of the Aaron Rodgers era and sent their biggest rival into a scenario where they would be the first 7-1 team since the merger to miss the playoffs. The Bears got off to an early 7-0 lead with a pass to Brandon Marshall. But the Packers got a TD, interception, and TD to take a 14-7 lead at half. They quickly scored in the third to go up 21-7, but from there commited a series of bad mistakes that nearly cost them the game. Two fumbles, two missed field goals, and a terrible pass interference play by Morgan Burnett, and yet the packers still held on for the win. Why it was important: winning the division on your rivals field, when you started the season 2-3 and they started 7-1.

8. 2011 Week 1 Saints at Packers W 42-34. The second opening game on this list, and it wont be the last. The Packers hung on for a thriller victory 42-34. The first game of the NFL season was one of the best of the season. The Packers jumped out 14-0 and 21-7, but New Orleans closed to withing 21-17. With the score 28-20, Randall Cobb, in his first career NFL game, ran a kickoff back 108 yards for a touchdown. With the score 42-24, the Saints marched down to the one yard line on the final play of the game, but were stuffed on their last attempt. Why it was important: First game as defending champs, beginning of a record setting 15-1 season.

7. 2010 Week 1 Packers at Eagles W 27-20. The third opening game on this list, and it still wont be the last. The Packers went into philly and won 27-20. It was important for a myriad of reasons. It was the first game of a super bowl season, and it was the first game of, in my opinion, a new era. The Packers came into this season as not just super bowl contenders, but super bowl favorites, for the first time in about 12 years. It was also the first time the Packers won in Philly since the 60's.

Week 17 NFL Picks

Back to good form last week, going 12-4 to put me at 151-89 on the season. We have now reached the last week of the NFL season, and what a fun ride its been. Some teams have surprised me with how good they are (Seahawks, Colts), some have surprised me with how bad they are (Panthers, Steelers), and some I accurately predicted to be bad while some "experts" predicted a good season (Eagles!) Also the Lions. Lets close out the regular season on a strong note to peak in the playoffs!

Buccaneers at Falcons: The Falcons may rest starters in this one, but I still like them to take it at home. Pick: Falcons

Jets at Bills: Pick: I need to go back and see what my record is on picking Jets games this season. Every time I buy into them a little bit and start picking them to win they suck it up, and every time I think theyre terrible and pick them to lose they bounce back. I hate you Jets! After picking them to win the last two weeks and having them lose both, Im off the wagon, so they'll probably win. Pick: Jets

Ravens at Bengals: This game is largely meaningless thanks to the Ravens winning the division today, but Cincy is still playing for playoff seeding. If Cincy wins, a Bengals/Ravens rematch in the wild card round is very possible.

Bears at Lions: The Bears are still alive, but need the Packers to beat the Vikings. Unfortunately, a Packers/Bears playoff matchup which looked possible coming into the week, is now impossible until at least the championship game (yea right) because of the Vikings winning today. Pick: Bears

Jaguars at Titans: Yawn. Ill Take Jax because they at least looked interested today, whereas Tennessee seemed perfectly content to take off the rest of the season. Pick: Jaguars

Texans at Colts: Texans still playing for home field, Colts for 5 or 6 seed, really tough game to pick, but I still sorta kinda believe in Houston. Pick: Texans

Panthers at Saints: New Orleans just went into Dallas and won, crushing my dreams of a Cowboys trip to Lambeau in January. They are clearly a better team now than they were in September. Pick: Saints

Eagles at Giants: People don't realize this is the 3rd time in the last 4 seasons they Giants have imploded in December. People don't realize this because a championship was sandwiched inbetween, but its true. Pick: Giants

Browns at Steelers: No Playoffs for you steel city! Pick: Steelers

Dolphins at Patriots: Pats still can potentially end up at the one seed, hopefully this wont happen. Pick: Patriots

Chiefs at Broncos: And this is why it wont, Denver gets a pushover in week seventeen. Pick: Broncos

Raiders at Chargers: Remember when these teams played in week one, and I said it would be a snoozefest? the same goes for this one, but at least we wont be forced to watch it because five other games will be going on. Pick: Chargers

Cardinals at 49ers: I actually want San Fran to win, because a San Fran lose means Seattle most likely takes the division. Pick: 49ers

Rams at Seahawks: Seattle going for a perfect home record this season.* cough. Pick: Seahawks

Packers at Vikings: A Packers win means a first round bye, a loss sets up a rematch with the Vikings at Lambeau the next week. No way im picking for that to happen. Pick: Packers

Cowboys at Redskins: RG3 lit up Dallas on Thanksgiving, and he'll do it again, I said after week one Washington would win this division and people laughed. Yea, whose laughing now? Pick: Redskins

NFC North Standings
1. Green Bay Packers: 11-4 (5-0)
2. Minnesota Vikings: 9-6 (3-2)
3. Chicago Bears: 9-6 (2-3)
4. Detroit Lions: 4-11 (0-5)

NFC Standings
1. Atlanta Falcons: 13-2 Clinched Home Field Advantage
2. Green Bay Packers: 11-4 Clinched Division
3. San Francisco 49ers: 10-4-1 Clinched Playoff Berth
4. Washington Redskins: 9-6
5. Seattle Seahawks: 10-5 Clinched playoff Berth
6. Minnesota Vikings: 9-6
7. Chicago Bears: 9-6
8. Dallas Cowboys: 8-7
9. New York Giants: 8-7
10. St Louis Rams: 7-7-1 E
11. New Orleans Saints: 7-8 E
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-9 E
13. Carolina Panthers: 6-9 E
14. Arizona Cardinals: 5-10 E
15. Detroit Lions: 4-11 E
16. Philadelphia Eagles: 4-11 E

AFC Standings
1. Houston Texans: 12-3 Clinched Division
2. Denver Broncos: 12-3 Clinched Division
3. New England Patriots: 11-4 Clinched Division
4. Baltimore Ravens: 10-5 Clinched Division
5. Indianapolis Colts: 10-5 Clinched Playoff Berth
6. Cincinnati Bengals: 9-6 Clinched Playoff Berth
7. Miami Dolphins: 7-8 E
8. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-8 E
9. San Diego Chargers: 6-9 E
10. New York Jets: 6-9 E
11. Cleveland Browns: 5-10 E
12. Tennessee Titans: 5-10 E
13. Buffalo Bills: 5-10 E
14. Oakland Raiders: 4-11 E
15. Jacksonville Jaguars: 2-13 E
16. Kansas City Chiefs: 2-13 E

Its going to either be Vikings vs Packers at Lambeau on on wild card weekend, or 49ers at Lambeau on divisional weekend. I guess theres a chance 49ers could lose on wild card weekend, meaning it could be Seattle/Washington/Dallas at Lambeau on divisional weekend, but I doubt San Fran would lose at home. I also doubt the Vikings can beat the Packers two weeks in a row, so even if we lose this weekend, I foresee a playoff victory on wild card weekend.

Week 16 picks

An 8-8 week, nothing to hang my hat on. I now stand at 139-85 on the season. Im pretty sure Im up to 4 straight weeks where I haven't done so hot, and am one by one falling behind the ESPN experts. Im still ahead of a few of them though. Hopefully I can end the season on a strong note.

Falcons at Lions: Pick: Falcons
Saints at Cowboys: Pick: Saints
Titans at Packers: Pick: Packers
Colts at Chiefs: Pick: Colts
Bills at Dolphins: Pick: Dolphins
Chargers at Jets: Pick: Jets
Redskins at Eagles: Pick: Redskins
Bengals at Steelers: Pick: Bengals
Rams at Buccaneers: Pick: Buccaneers
Raiders at Panthers: Pick: Panthers
Patriots at Jaguars: Pick: Patriots
Vikings at Texans: Pick: Texans
Browns at Broncos: Pick: Broncos
Bears at Cardinals: Pick: Bears
Giants at Ravens: Pick: Giants
49ers at Seahawks: Pick: Seahawks

NFC North Standings: The Green Bay Packers are the NFC north champions for 2012!
1. Green Bay Packers: 10-4 (5-0)
2. Minnesota Vikings: 8-6 (3-2)
3. Chicago Bears: 8-6 (2-3)
4. Detroit Lions: 4-10 (0-5)

NFC Standings
1. Atlanta Falcons: 12-2 Clinched Division
2. San Francisco 49ers: 10-3-1 Clinched Playoff Berth
3. Green Bay Packers: 10-4 Clinched Division
4. Washington Redskins: 8-6
5. Seattle Seahawks: 9-5
6. Minnesota Vikings: 8-6
7. Chicago Bears: 8-6
8. Dallas Cowboys: 8-6
9. New York Giants: 8-6
10. St Louis Rams: 6-7-1 E
11. New Orleans Saints: 6-8 E
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-8 E
13. Carolina Panthers: 5-9 E
14. Arizona Cardinals: 5-9 E
15. Detroit Lions: 4-10 E
16. Philadelphia Eagles: 4-10 E

AFC Standings
1. Houston Texans: 12-2 Clinched Division
2. Denver Broncos: 11-3 Clinched Division
3. New England Patriots: 10-4 Clinched Division
4. Baltimore Ravens: 9-5 Clinched Playoff Berth
5. Indianapolis Colts: 9-5
6. Cincinnati Bengals: 8-6
7. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-7
8. New York Jets: 6-8 E
9. Miami Dolphins: 6-8 E
10. Cleveland Browns: 5-9 E
11. Tennessee Titans: 5-9 E
12. San Diego Chargers: 5-9 E
13. Buffalo Bills: 5-9 E
14. Oakland Raiders: 4-10 E
15. Jacksonville Jaguars: 2-12 E
16. Kansas City Chiefs: 2-12 E

Exactly half of the NFLs 32 teams are eliminate from playoff contention.  7 of the 12 playoff spots are wrapped up. That leaves 9 teams fighting for 5 playoff spots with two weeks left. Theres three teams fighting for two spots in the AFC, and a whopping six teams fighting for 3 spots in the NFC, including a 3 way tie in the NFC East. These final two weeks in the NFC race are going to be a lot of fun.

The 12 best Packer games of the Aaron Rodgers era (Part 1)

With the fifth season of the Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay coming to a close, I thought it would be appropriate to rank the twelve best games of this current period in packer history. This is a hard list to put together, because, unlike the Brett Favre era, the Aaron Rodgers period has severely lacked close, heart pounding wins. 90% of Packer games of the past five years have been wins by a touchdown or more, or a very close loss. Two notes before we dive in, these are regular season games only, not playoff games. The four playoff wins would automatically be 1-4 on this list if I included them, so I just decided not to bother. Second, these isn't a list of Aaron Rodgers best performances, this is a list of the overall best games, some of these games Rodgers actually performed somewhat poorly in, so that's not what this list is about at all. This is a lot about how important the wins were for the Packers season, not necessarily how exciting the game was. A win in October against a bad team isn't going to be on this list, even if it was a great game. Here we go:

12. Week 1 2008: Vikings 19 at Packers 24: The first start of Aaron Rodgers career, and the beginning of a new era. I was seventeen years old and this was the first time in my whole entire life that Brett Favre was not the starting quarterback of a Packer game, that's a staggering statistic. Rodgers performed well, completing 82% of his passes, a record for a QB in his first start that still stands today. He also threw for a touchdown and ran for another. The Packers had a 10-6 lead in the third when Will Blackmon ran back a punt 76 yards for a touchdown. The Vikings countered with a TD of their own early in the fourth, but failed on a two point try, putting the score at 17-12. with six minutes left, A Packer touchdown appeared to seal the deal, but the Vikings countered to make it 24-19 and got the ball back with about a minute left to try and win. Near midfield, Atari Bigby picked off Tavaris Jackson to finally put the game away. Unfortunately from here, the two teams went in opposite directions. The Packers would finish the season 6-10, and the Vikings wound up winning the division. Why it was important: Still, at the time, it was a happy moment for Packer fans realizing the world wasn't ending because Brett Favre was no longer at the helm.

11. Week 11 2011 Packers 45 at Chargers 38: The 2011 season was a special one for Packer fans, and this game was one of the highlights. Green Bay entered the game 7-0, but the Chargers were viewed as the biggest threat to date to dereail their undefeated season. The Packers burst right out of the gate, with two pick sixes in the first quarter on the way to a 21-7 lead after fifteen minutes. The Chargers responded with ten points in a row, closing the score to within four points. Rodgers led the Packers two minute offense with ease, throwing a TD pass to Nelson with 16 seconds left in the half, leading to a 28-17 halftime lead. The Packers kept pouring on points, and with ten minutes left, opened up a seemingly insurmountable 45-24 lead, but the Chargers scored twice in 68 seconds, to close within 45-38 with six minutes left. The Chargers got the ball with a chance to tie, but were stopped and the Packers held on to improve to 8-0. Rodgers finished with four TD passes. Why it was important: This win was the game that put thoughts of an undefeated season in Packers fans minds for the first time.

10. Week 11 2010 Packers 31 at Vikings 3: The fourth and final matchup pitting Aaron Rodgers against Brett Favre. The Packers dominated from start to finish with an offensive assault that was relentless. Leading just 10-3 with less than a minute left in the first half, the Packers marched and scored a TD with just five seconds left to stretch the lead to 17-3. They got the ball to start the second half and marched right down and scored again. The lead went from 10-3 to 24-3 without Favre even touching the ball. The Packers tacked on one more in the fourth to turn it into a 31-3 laugher. Favre finished with a less than fifty percent completion percentage, and the least points scored by the Vikings in Favres tenure their. Rodgers had four TD passes. Why its important: It killed any Vikings playoff chances, basically ending Favres career, and officially passing the torch of dominance over to Rodgers.

Updated Packers MVP Standings

Four more games have been played since we last took a look at the MVP race, and all four games have been consistent in that none of them have had a stand out performer. Lets take a look at those four games:

At Detoit Lions: Randall Cobb gets the full point for nine recpetions and a TD. Half points go to Walden for a pair of sacks, and Finley for a couple of clutch plays.

At New York Giants: The Packers worst performance in four years, so its near imposible to pick a MVP. I guess Nelsons TD reception was the only bright spot so one point to Nelson.

Vs Minnesota Vikings: Morgan Burnett clearly gets the full point for two picks, without them the Packers almost certainly lose. Half point to Starks for ingniting the running game and A nice TD run.

Vs Detroit Lions: Full point to Mike Daniels for the season saving TD. Half point to Rodgers for a nice TD run. Half point to Cobb for seven receptions on seven targets. Lets give a half point to Crosby for nailing two clutch field goals also. He missed one, but I blame that on Rodgers sack on 3rd down the play before. One more half point to dejuan harris for a nice performance when I had never heard of him heading into the game.

Standings through 13 game
Randall Cobb: 4 points
Erik Walden: 1 point
Jermichael Finley: 0.5 points
Jordy Nelson: 2 points
Morgan Burnett:1.5 points
James Starks: 0.5 points
Mike Daniels: 1 point
Aaron Rodgers: 3.5 points
Mason Crosby: 1 point
Dejuan Harris: 0.5 points
Davon House: 1 point
Tim Masthay: 1 point
Clay Matthews: 1 point
Tramon Williams: 0.5 points
John Kuhn: 0.5 points
AJ Hawk: 1.5 points
James Jones: 3 points
Cedric Benson: 0.5 points
Alex Green: 0.5 points
Casey Heyward: 1.5 points

NFL week 15 picks

I went 10-6 last week, standing 131-77 through 14 weeks.



Bengals at Eagles: Pick: Eagles
Packers at Bears: Pick: Packers
Giants at Falcons: Pick: Giants
Redskins at Browns: Pick: Redskins
Vikings at Rams: Pick: Rams
Jaguars at Dolphins: Pick: Dolphins
Buccaneers at Saints: Pick: Saints
Broncos at Ravens: Pick: Broncos
Colts at Texans: Pick: Texans
Seahawks at Bills: Pick: Seahawks
Lions at Cardinals: Pick: Lions
Panthers at Chargers: Pick: Chargers
Steelers at Cowboys: Pick: Steelers
Chiefs at Raiders: Pick: Raiders
49ers at Patriots: Pick: Patriots
Jets at Titans: Pick: Jets

NFC North standings: Packers have sole possession of first place and have a magic number of two to clinch the division!
1. Packers: 9-4 (4-0)
2. Bears 8-5 (2-2)
3. Vikings 7-6 (3-2)
4. Lions 4-9 (0-5)

NFC Standings
1. Atlanta Falcons: 11-2 Clinched division
2. San Francisco 49ers: 9-3-1
3. Green Bay Packers: 9-4
4. New York Giants: 8-5
5. Seattle Seahawks: 8-5
6. Chicago Bears: 8-5
7. Washington Redskins: 7-6
8. Dallas Cowboys: 7-6
9. Minnesota Vikings: 7-6
10. St Louis Rams: 6-6-1
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-7
12. New Orleans Saints: 5-8
13. Carolina Panthers: 4-9 E
14. Detroit Lions: 4-9 E
15. Arizona Cardinals: 4-9 E
16. Philadelphia Eagles: 4-9 E

AFC Standings
1. Houston Texans: 11-2 Clinched Playoff berth
2. New England Patriots: 10-3 Clinched division title
3. Denver Broncos: 10-3 Clinched division title
4. Baltimore Ravens: 9-4
5. Indianapolis Colts: 9-4
6. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-6
7. Cincinnati Bengals: 7-6
8. New York Jets: 6-7
9. Cleveland Browns: 5-8
10. San Diego Chargers: 5-8
11. Buffalo Bills: 5-8
12. Miami Dolphins: 5-8
13. Tennessee Titans: 4-9
14. Oakland Raiders: 3-10 E
15. Jacksonville Jaguars: 2-11 E
16. Kansas City Chiefs: 2-11 E

The Packers, if they win out are almost guaranteed to pick up a first round bye, possibly even still sneak into the one seed. All this is contingent on the Packers winning out, but if the 49ers lose one for their final 3 games, and the Falcons 2 of their final 3, the Packers will be the one seed. The 49ers have to play at Seattle and at New England, its hard to fathom them not losing at least one of them Atlanta plays New York, At Detroit, and Tampa Bay. If the Giants beat them, I can certainly see a possibility in them losing one of their last two. who would have though after a 2-3 start wed even have a prayer of the one seed with just three weeks left. This is when it gets exciting. Oh yea, and if the Packers win Sunday, they officially clinch the division.

Game 13: Packers (8-4) Vs Lions (4-8) Part II

For the third time this season the Packers will play a second straight game at Lambeau Field. They are 2-0 in the previous two second games of their two game homestands. The Packers come into this week tied with the Bears atop the division at 8-4. The Packers will know before the game whether or not the Bears have lost this week. A Bears loss means the Packers could clinch the division title next week in Chicago with a win tonight and next week.

The Packers welcome the Lions into town for their 7th home date of the season. They are 5-1 at home on the season, this is their 4th primetime home game of the season, they are 2-1 in the previous 3.

How the Lions are doing: Not well, they are 0-2 in their two games since last playing the Packers, both heartbreaking. An OT loss to the Texans, and a last play of the game touchdown loss to the Colts have sent them to 4-8 and out of the playoff picture. If the packers get on top early tonight its hard to imagine the Lions having enough fight in them to comeback.

Injury Update: Sam Shields will be back this week, his first game since October against the Texans. Matthews, Woodson, Nelson will all be out this week, but all three are good bets to return next week.

Packers Vs Lions recent history: The Packers have dominated the Lions in Aaron Rodgers career. The Packers are 8-1 in games Rodgers starts against the Lions, the one loss was a game in which Rodgers missed the entire second half. The Packers have won 21 straight home games against Detroit going back to 1991, when I was four months old.

Ill be going to the game tonight, a personal record fourth game at Lambeau in one season, one of them was a preseason game.

Prediction: Its snowing here now, but even if it stops before the game the winter conditions should favor the Packers against a dome team. The Lions are reeling, and Lambeau is not a place for reeling teams to turn things around. Packers 34 Lions 21

NCAA Bowl Picks 12/15-12/24

I correctly picked the Army/Navy game this week, giving me a final regular season record of non big ten games of 35-28. At the conclusion of this game, the regular season of college football was officially over and Bowl season has begin. Theres about 168 hours until kickoff of the first bowl game. This post will attempt to pick the Bowl games between now and Christmas. On Christmas day, Ill post my picks for the bowl games between 12/26 and 12/30, and from New Years eve on Ill post my picks on a day by day basis. Here we go!

1. New Mexico Bowl: December 15th 1:00 PM Nevada vs Arizona: Pick: Arizona
2. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: December 15th 4:30 PM Toledo vs Utah St: Pick: Utah ST
3. Pointsettia Bowl: December 20th 8:00 PM BYU Vs San Diego St: Pick: San Diego St
4. Beef O Brady Bowl: December 21st 7:30 PM Ball St vs UCF: Pick: UCF
5. New Orleans Bowl: December 22nd 12:00 PM Eastern Carolina vs Louisiana Lafayette Pick: ULA
6. MAACO Bowl: December 22nd 3:30 PM Washington vs Boise st: Pick: Boise St
7. Hawaii Bowl: December 24th 8:00 PM Fresno St vs SMU: Pick: Fresno ST

A couple upsets in the pack from me by taking UCF and San Diego st. I definitely see the possibility for some blowouts in this group, Arizona, Boise St, and Fresno St all have that abilty. Happy bowl season!

Week 14 NFL Picks

A second straight 9-7 week, putting me at 121-70 on the season. Hopefully I can get out of this funk Im in this week with the playoffs approaching.

Broncos at Raiders: Pick: Broncos
Rams at Bills: Pick: Rams
Cowboys at Bengals: Pick: Bengals
Chiefs at Browns: Pick: Browns
Titans at Colts: Pick: Colts
Bears at Vikings: Pick: Vikings
Lions at Packers: Pick: Packers
Chargers at Steelers: Pick: Steelers
Eagles at Buccaneers: Pick: Buccaneers
Ravens at Redskins: Pick: Ravens
Falcons at Panthers: Pick: Panthers
Jets at Jaguars: Pick: Jaguars
Dolphins at 49ers: Pick: 49ers
Saints at Giants: Pick: Saints
Cardinals at Seahawks: Pick: Seahawks
Texans at Patriots: Pick: Patriots

NFC North standings: Packers back in first!!! By virtue of tiebreaker
1. Green Bay Packers: 8-4 (3-0)
2. Chicago Bears: 8-4 (2-1)
3. Minnesota Vikings: 6-6 (2-2)
4. Detroit Lions: 4-8 (0-4)

NFC Standings
1. Atlanta Falcons: 11-1 (Clinched Division)
2. San Francisco 49ers: 8-3-1
3. Green Bay Packers: 8-4
4. New York Giants: 7-5
5. Chicago Bears: 8-4
6. Seattle Seahawks: 7-5
7. Washington Redskins: 6-6
8. Dallas Cowboys: 6-6
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-6
10. Minnesota Vikings: 6-6
11. St Louis Rams: 5-6-1
12. New Orleans Saints: 5-7
13. Detroit Lions: 4-8
14. Arizona Cardinals: 4-8
15. Carolina Panthers: 3-9
16. Philadelphia Eagles: 3-9

AFC Standings
1. Houston Texans: 11-1 (clinched playoff berth)
2. New England Patriots: 9-3 (Clinched Division)
3. Baltimore Ravens: 9-3
4. Denver Broncos: 9-3 (Clinched division)
5. Indianapolis Colts: 8-4
6. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-5
7. Cincinnati Bengals: 7-5
8. New York Jets: 5-7
9. Buffalo Bills: 5-7
10. Miami Dolphins: 5-7
11. Cleveland Browns: 4-8
12. San Diego Chargers: 4-8
13. Tennessee Titans: 4-8
14. Oakland Raiders: 3-9 E
15. Jacksonville Jaguars: 2-10 E
16. Kansas City Chiefs: 2-10 E

AP runs wild, but Pack steal the game 23-14

The Green Bay Packers looked like they were going to roll to an easy home win against an inferior opponent Sunday Afternoon, quickly jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the game first frame. Then, Adrian Peterson took over. In a run reminiscent of Legarrete Blounts touchdown run for Tampa Bay against the Packers last season, Peterson broke loose for an 82 yard score which actually gave the Vikings the lead, a lead they would hold until halftime. Coming out of the half, the Vikings looked like they were going to go up two scores thanks to a huge run by Peterson to start the half, but an awful interception by Christian Ponder saved the Packers from a deeper hole. A field goal and twenty two yard touchdown run by James Starks put the Packers back on top 20-14 heading to the fourth. With the Vikings driving again, Ponder through another interception, once again to Morgan Burnett. An eleven minute Packer drive, the longest of the season in the NFL, led to a Mason Crosby field goal with four minutes left in the game, giving the Packers a 23-14 lead. The Game was officially iced when Vikings kicker Blair Walsh missed a field goal with two minutes left and the Packers won 23-14.

This was without a doubt one of the more frustrating wins Ive ever been a part of. Who knows what the final result would have been in the Vikings get points in their first possession of the 3rd quarter, instead of Christian Ponder throwing a horrid pass for an interception.

The Good
The running game: For the most part, the running game was solid, and a huge part of this win. this was the first time since October the Packers got a rushing touchdown, and it was a fairly long one at 22 yards.

Morgan Burnett: 2 Interception, enough said.

Unfortunately that's all I have for the good this week. Now the bad

The defensive line: 0 sacks, and they contributed to allowing 218 yards to Adrian Peterson

Playcalling: Running on first AND second down is ridiculous to me for this team. A nice run of five yards on first down should open the door for a short pass on second down, NOT another run that usually yields zero yards because the defense is expecting it at that point. Which results in an automatic third down situation, which may be converted some of the time, but eventually third down magic runs out. This resulted in a stalled drive more than once yesterday.

With the win and Bears loss, the Packers now have an opportunity to make a tough game to end the season at the Metrodome irrelevant. If the Packers win their next three games, two of which are at home against sub .500 teams, they will officially clinch the division before their season finale. However, while they may not need a victory in their final game to win the division, they will still likely need to win all of their final four games to have a chance at a first round bye in the playoffs.

Up Next: Sunday Night at football at Lambeau against the Detroit Lions.

Game 12: Minnesota Vikings (6-5) Vs Green Bay Packers (7-4)

The Packers will look to rebound from their 38-10 defeat at the hands of the New York Giants last week. Coming into Lambeau, a familiar foe, the Minnesota Vikings. Its hard to believe that we are in December and this is the first game against the Vikings this season but that's where we are. There have definitely been some bumps in the road this year for the Packers but I think all you can really ask for is to control your own destiny for the division heading into December and the Packers have that.

Heres some incredible divisional stats about the Packers dominance within the NFC North:
1. Aaron Rodgers is 12-1 at Lambeau in his career in divisional games. The best winning percentage for an NFL quarterback in division games in NFL History.
2. The Packers have won four straight against the Vikings heading into todays game.
3. The last meeting between the two was a 45-7 Packers victory, the largest margin of victory in the history of the rivalry.
4. The Packers have won 10 straight divisional games overall, 5 of the 10 have come against the Bears, 2 against the Vikings, 3 against the Lions. (Last loss: December 2010, 9-7 At Detroit)
5. The Packers have won 13 straight divisional games in which Aaron Rodgers played the whole game. (Last Loss: September 2010 at Chicago)

Its hard to win in this league with poor line play, and that's why this game scares me. The Vikings have the better offensive line and defensive line. The Vikings should be able to run effectively, and should be able to get good pressure on Rodgers. Those two could be a recipe for disaster.

The Packers will welcome back Greg Jennings, who will play in just his third game of the season, first since The Packers went into Seattle. The addition will be nice, but I think Id prefer to have Matthews back, as he, along with Charles Woodson will be out.

Percy Harvin will be out for the Vikings, he has been their MVP so far this year, so this will be a big loss for them.

Prediction: Despite the disadvantages at line play, there is no overlooking the huge talent advantages the Packers have at Receiver and Quarterback. The Vikings don't have elite corners, so if Rodgers even gets a decent level of protection, the Packers will put up at least 30. The Vikings cant pass the ball, and its hard to put up 30 with only a running game, therefore because I don't think the Vikings have the offensive ability to match the Packers point for point ill say: Packers 31 Vikings 20

Week 15 NCAA Pick

I correctly picked the Big Ten championship game this week, finishing 41-8 in Big Ten play this year, a record I am incredibly proud of. I went 5-3 outside of the Big ten and stand at 34-28 on those games on the season, with one game left.

Army Vs Navy: Pick: Navy

Now that thats out of the way, a congratulations is in order to the Wisconsin Badgers for winning a 3rd consecutive Big ten Championship. This one may have a slight asterick, but the fact remains in the 116 year history of Big ten football, this is only the second time ever a team has won 3 straight titles, Ohio State in the 1960's being the other. The Badgers offense laid a shelleacking on Nebraska, winning 70-31. By the time the Badgers got to 28, the Nebraska defense was just gassed and lost and had no idea how to handle everything the Badgers were throwing their way. Its been a rocky year, with three OT losses, but all that matters is the Badgers are heading to the Rose Bowl yet again. The six BCS Conference champs are as follows:

Big East: Louisville
Big Ten: Wisconsin
Pac-12: Stanford
Big 12: Kansas st
SEC: Alabama
ACC: Florida st

There are four at large BCS berths up for grabs, and three of them are essentially locked up, Notre Dame being the 100% lock. The other two are about 90% locks, Oregon and Florida. The last spot is up for grabs, it cant be an SEC team, and the ACC. Big ten, Pac-12, and Big east dont really have any other qualified teams, so it really has to be Oklahoma in all likelihood. Another possibility is Northern Illinois, which would be a 1 loss BCS buster, further exposing the system as a fraud. The pre-Christmas bowl game picks will be up next Saturday night, cant wait for the bowl season. Keep an eye on where the other Big ten teams end up, Northwestern, Nebraska, Michigan, Michigan st, Minnesota, and Purdue.

NFL Week 13 picks

It doesn't feel right putting week 13 down. Seems like just yesterday I was sitting in Lambeau enjoying the beginning of another year. Anyway, I went 9-7 last week in a down week, a lot of close calls that would have pushed me further but oh well. I now stand at 112-62 on the season.

Saints at Falcons: Pick: Falcons
Vikings at Packers: Pick: Packers
Jaguars at Bills: Pick: Jaguars
Seahawks at Bears: Pick: Bears
Colts at Lions: Pick: Lions
Texans at Titans: Pick: Texans
Panthers at Chiefs: Pick: Chiefs
49ers at Rams: Pick: 49ers
Patriots at Dolphins: Pick: Patriots
Cardinals at Jets: Pick: Jets
Buccaneers at Broncos: Pick: Broncos
Browns at Raiders: Pick: Raiders
Bengals at Chargers: Pick: Chargers
Steelers at Ravens: Pick: Ravens
Eagles at Cowboys: Pick: Cowboys
Giants at Redskins: Pick: Redskins

NFC North standings: Packers no longer in first, still control own destiny with five games left.
1. Chicago Bears: 8-3 (2-1)
2. Green Bay Packers 7-4 (2-0)
3. Minnesota Vikings 6-5 (2-1)
4. Detroit Lions 4-7 (0-4)

NFC Standings
1. Atlanta Falcons: 10-1
2. San Francisco 49ers: 8-2-1
3. Chicago Bears: 8-3
4. New York Giants:7-4
5. Green Bay Packers: 7-4
6. Seattle Seahawks: 6-5
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-5
8. Minnesota Vikings: 6-5
9. Washington Redskins: 5-6
10. Dallas Cowboys: 5-6
11. New Orleans Saints: 5-6
12. St. Louis Rams: 4-6-1
13. Detroit Lions: 4-7
14. Arizona Cardinals: 4-7
15. Carolina Panthers: 3-8
16. Philadelphia Eagles: 3-8

AFC Standings
1. Houston Texans: 10-1
2.Baltimore Ravens: 9-2
3. New England Patriots: 8-3
4. Denver Broncos: 8-3
5. Indianapolis Colts: 7-4
6. Pittsburgh Steelers: 6-5
7. Cincinnati Bengals: 6-5
8. Miami Dolphins: 5-6
9.San Diego Chargers: 4-7
10. Tennessee Titans: 4-7
11. New York Jets: 4-7
12. Buffalo Bills: 4-7
13. Cleveland Browns: 3-8
14. Oakland Raiders: 3-8
15. Jacksonville Jaguars: 2-9
16. Kansas City Chiefs: 1-10

Big Ten/ACC Challenge

The fourteenth annual Big/Ten/ACC Challenge will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, an event I consider the start of the college basketball season, at least the point where I start paying attention to it. All the cupcakes and early season tournaments are out of the way and we get into real exciting matchups. As far as the history of the event goes, the ACC won the challenge the first ten years it was held, but the Big Ten has won it the last three years, including an 8-4 drubbing last year. The Big Ten early on is considered the best conference in the country this year and will need to win the challenge for a fourth year in a row to maintain that distinction. Here are my picks for this years game, ranked from twelve to one in terms of how good of matchups they are.

12. Nebraska at Wake Forest (Tuesday 9:15): Both teams will be bottom dwellers in their conference. Wake Forest gets the edge because of being at home. Pick: Wake Forest

11. Boston College at Penn St (Wednesday 9:15): Slightly more appealing because its the second to last game so will have more significance, but its still two bottom dwellers, again slight edge to the home team. Pick: Penn st

10. Maryland at Northwestern (Tuesday 9:15): Another semi boring matchup, unfortunately for the Big, I like the terrapins chances on the road. Pick: Maryland

9. Iowa at Virginia Tech (Tuesday 7:15): Virginia Tech is picked by many to finish dead last in the ACC this year. Iowa will be bad, but they wont be that bad. Pick: Iowa

8.Purdue at Clemson (Wednesday 7:15): Purdue has fallen fast from big ten supremacy just a couple years ago, Clemson is picked to finish near the bottom of the ACC, this may be the toughest game to pick, I don't feel good about it, but ill Boiler Up. Pick: Purdue

7. Virginia at Wisconsin (Wednesday 7:00): My Badgers get a very favorable matchup in this years challenge. For one their home, and they face a perennial ACC bottom feeder. The Badgers haven't looked all that impressive so far, but they should still get the win here. Pick: Badgers

6. Georgia Tech at Illinois (Wednesday 9:00): Illinois was picked to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten but has gotten off to a 7-0 start, beating a couple decent teams too. It will be interesting to see how they fare on a bigger stage. I like them at home. Pick: Illinois

5. Minnesota at Florida st (Tuesday 7:15): FSU will be a decent team this year, as will Minnesota. In another closely contested game, Ill take the B1G taking another road game. Pick: Minnesota

4. Michigan st at Miami (Wednesday 7:30): Miami is picked by many to be a breakout team this year. I like the Spartans stomping them on the road. Pick: Michigan st

3. NC State at Michigan (Tuesday 7:30): NC state is supposed to have a great year, Michigan is ranked number three but their recent history of being overrated in Basketball is well documented. Ill take a road upset here. Pick: NC State

2. North Carolina at Indiana (Tuesday 9:30): The Number one team in the country takes on a perennial national power. The bottom line here is the number one team shouldn't lose at home, no matter who the opponent. Pick: Indiana

1. Ohio st at Duke (Wednesday 9:30): The last game of the challenge, so it may carry a ton of significance, although according to my picks, the Big ten will already have victory clinched. Hopefully they will, because 1. Duke doesn't lose at home 2. Id hate to have to cheer for Ohio st Pick: Duke

Final standings prediction: Big Ten: 8 ACC: 4 A repeat of last year record. Go B1G!

NCAA Week 14 picks

Here we are, the 14th and final week of the college football season before the bowl games. Of the six major sports seasons (MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, NCAA Basketball, NCAA Football) the college football season is probably the one I enjoy the most as a whole. Being able to sit down every Saturday and watch football from noon to past midnight during the fall is amazing to me. I enjoy it more than the NFL because theres more than sixteen games a week, and every games means more. I enjoy watching the conference races take shape, and I enjoy the amazing atmospheres college games provide. As the final week approaches I am a tad gloomy, but the final week promises to pack quite a punch in its own right. I went a perfect 6-0 in Big ten games this year, now standing at 40-8 on the season. I went a less impressive 6-6 outside the Big Ten, now standing at 29-25 in those games.

Big ten championship Game: Nebraska Vs Wisconsin: The winner of this games goes to the Rose Bowl, and despite a not to stellar season, the Badgers still have a chance for history this week. In the 116 year history of the Big ten, only once has a team won three straight conference championships, Ohio State when they won five in a row in the early 1960s. A win on Saturday and the Badgers would be only the second team to do it. The Badgers lost five games during the regular season, but, like a typical fan, I feel they were so close to being undefeated. A bogus onside kick call in oregon st, a blown 17 point lead in Nebraska, and 3 OT losses make up the Badger defeats. The Big ten has been down this year, but the good news is the winner of this game wont have to face Oregon, so the Big will have a chance in this years Rose Bowl. Pick: Badgers head to Pasadena for a third straight year.

PAC-12 Championship game: UCLA at Stanford: Pick: Stanford
SEC Championship game: Alabama vs Georgia: Pick: Alabama
ACC Championship game: Florida st Vs Georgia Tech: Pick: Florida St
MAC Championship game: Northern Illinois vs Kent st Pick: Northern Illinois
C-USA Championship Game: Tulsa Vs UCF: Pick: UCF

Louisville at Rutgers: Pick: Rutgers
Texas at Kansas st: Pick: Kansas St
Oklahoma at TCU: Pick: TCU

Notre Dame has punched its ticket in the National Championship game. Alabama Vs Georgia is a semifinals game, the winner will face them.

The Big East is a cluster with just one week left. If Rutgers wins their last game, they are the Big East champs. If they lose, their could be a 4 way tie for that distinction.

A Kansas st win OR Oklahoma loss makes Kansas st Big 12 champs. A kansas st loss AND Oklahoma win makes Oklahoma Big 12 champs.

Final Big ten standings

Legends
1. Nebraska (7-1)
2. Michigan (6-2)
3. Northwestern (5-3)
4. Michigan st (3-5)
5. Iowa (2-6)
6. Minnesota (2-6)

Leaders
1. Wisconsin (4-4)
2. Purdue (3-5)
3. Indiana (2-6)
4. Illinois (0-8)

Combined final standings including ineligble teams
1. Ohio st (8-0)
2. Nebraska (7-1)
3. Michigan (6-2)
4. Penn st (6-2)
5. Northwestern (5-3)
6. Wisconsin (4-4)
7. Michigan st (3-5)
8. Purdue (3-5)
9 Iowa (2-6)
10. Minnesota (2-6)
11. Indiana (2-6)
12. Illinois (0-8)

NFL Week 12 picks

I went 10-4 last week, and probably made a couple of foolish picks by taking the Raiders and Chiefs, but gotta take some risks right? I now stand at 103-56 on the season.

Texans at Lions: Pick: Texans
Redskins at Cowboys: Pick: Cowboys
Patriots at Jets: Pick: Patriots
Packers at Giants: Pick: Giants
Vikings at Bears: Pick: Bears
Raiders at Bengals: Pick: Bengals
Steelers at Browns: Pick: Steelers
Bills at Colts: Pick: Colts
Broncos at Cheifs: Pick: Broncos
Seahawks at Dolphins: Pick: Dolphins
Falcons at Buccaneers: Pick: Buccaneers
Titans at Jaguars: Pick: Jaguars
Ravens at Chargers: Pick: Chargers
49ers at Saints: Pick: Saints
Rams at Cardinals: Pick: Cardinals
Panthers at Eagles: Pick: Panthers

NFC North standings: As of five minutes ago the Packers are now in first place, by virtue of head to head tiebreaker. record in parentheses is division record
1. Packers 7-3 (2-0)
2. Bears 7-3 (1-1)
3. Vikings 6-4 (2-0)
4. Lions 4-6 (0-4)

NFC Standings
1. Atlanta (9-1)
2. San Francisco (7-2-1)
3. Green Bay (7-3)
4. New York Giants (6-4)
5. Chicago Bears (7-3)
6. Seattle Seahawks (6-4)
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4)
8. Minnesota Vikings (6-4)
9. New Orleans Saints (5-5)
10.Dallas Cowboys (5-5)
11. Washington Redskins (4-6)
12. Detroit Lions (4-6)
13. Arizona Cardinals (4-6)
14. St Louis Rams (3-6-1)
15. Philadelphia Eagles (3-7)
16. Carolina Panthers (2-8)

AFC Standings
1. Houston (9-1)
2. Baltimore (8-2)
3. New England (7-3)
4. Denver (7-3)
5. Indianapolis (6-4)
6. Pittsburgh (6-4)
7. Cincinatti (5-5)
8. San Diego (4-6)
9. Tennessee (4-6)
10. New York Jets (4-6)
11. Buffalo Bills (4-6)
12. Miami Dolphins (4-6)
13. Oakland Raiders (3-7)
14. Cleveland Browns (2-8)
15. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-9)
16. Kansas City Chiefs (1-9)

NCAA week 13 picks

Well its been three fun and to fast months, but we have finally reached the final full Saturday of NCAA football. Theres still technically two more Saturdays left after this one, but next week is championship Saturday, and the week after Army/Navy week, so this is the last week of full conference slates. There is still a bit to be determined as well, but well get into that after my picks. I went 4-2 in Big Ten games last week, now standing at 34-8 on the season, while going 2-3 outside the Big ten, now standing at 23-19 on the season in those games. Here we go

Wisconsin at Penn st: Pick: Penn st
Michigan at Ohio st: Pick: Ohio st
Nebraska at Iowa: Pick: Nebraska
Michigan st at Minnesota: pick: Michigan st
Indiana at Purdue: Pick: Purdue
Illinois at Northwestern: Pick: Northwestern

Outside the Big Ten: I couldnt pick just 5 games I wanted to pick this week, so heres a special extra large picks edition for rivalry week

TCU at Texas: Pick: TCU
Arizona st at Arizona: Pick: Arizona
Washington at Washington st: Pick: Washington
Notre Dame at USC: Pick: Notre Dame
Auburn at Alabama: Pick: Alabama
Georgia Tech at Georgia: Pick: Georgia
Florida at Florida st: Pick: Florida st
Oregon at Oregon st: pick: Oregon st
Stanford at UCLA: Pick: Stanford
South Carolina at Clemson: Pick: Clemson
Oklahoma st at Oklahoma: Pick: Oklahoma st
West Virginia at Iowa st: Pick: Iowa st

Big Ten standings: Only 3 teams have a rose bowl hope left, and heres how it stacks up. Wisconsin is in the championship game, Nebraska is in with a win over Iowa OR a Michigan loss. Michigan is in with a win AND a Nebraska loss. Pretty simple

Legends
1. Nebraska (6-1)
2. Michigan (6-1)
3. Northwestern (4-3)E
4. Minnesota (2-5)E
5. Iowa (2-5)E
6. Michigan st (2-5)E

Leaders
1. Wisconsin (4-3) *
2. Purdue (2-5) E
3. Indiana (2-5) E
4. Illinois (0-7) E

In the ACC title game Florida st has clinched a spot, they will face either Georgia Tech or Miami. If Miami beats Duke, they are in, if they lose to Duke, its Georgia Tech

In the Big twelve its a 3 way race between Kansas st, Oklahoma, and Texas. Theres two full weeks left in the Big twelve season so its still a tad muddy, but if Kstate wins their last game, they are Big 12 champs, if they lose, it could get a little crazy

In the Big East its a two team race between Louisville and Rutgers, and will probably come down to the game between the two of them on November 29th. A Rutgers win and Louisville loss this week makes Rutgers the champ.

In the Pac-12 UCLA has clinched their division. in the north, Stanford gets in with a win OR an Oregon loss. Oregon gets in with a win AND a Stanford loss

The SEC is the only conference decided, its going to be Alabama vs Georgia in the championship game.

Finally, the National Championship picture. Alabama wont lose to Auburn so basically Notre Dame and Alabama are one win away for the National Championship. if Georgia beats Alabama, they are probably in, assuming they dont lose this weekend. If Notre Dame loses, it opens the door for Florida and Oregon to get in the picture. In a nuclear scenario that sees Notre Dame, Oregon, Florida all lose this weekend, Kansas st is let back in the picture, maybe even LSU or Florida st. Should be a fun week with so much to still be decided.

NBA week 3 picks

I went 2-0 in my games last week, standing at a 4-1 record for the season now.

Celtics at Nets: More road team boldness from me. Pick: Celtics
Heat at Nuggets: And even more Pick: Heat

A quick recap of the Magic so far this year, they started 2-0 igniting the hopes and dreams of Magic fans everywhere, but have since lost five in a row, failing to eclipse 90 points in the past four. Theyve been without three of their starters for every game this season except the first one, including captain Jameer Nelson, so an accurate indicator of the type of season this team will have cant be determined until they get those guys back. Still hard to see this team win more than 35 regardless though, and even thats probably stretching it a bit.

NFL Week 11 picks

Another nice week for me, going 9-4, the first time this year I believe where Ive had back to back good weeks. There were 14 games this week, but Im just going to ignore the tie. I now stand at 93-52 on the season, a .641 clip. Lets get right into this weeks games, theres some good ones, can I make it three straight impressive weeks?

Dolphins at Bills: Pick: Bills
Cardinals at Falcons: Pick: Falcons
Browns at Cowboys: Pick: Cowboys
Packers at Lions: Pick: Packers
Bengals at Chiefs: Pick: Chiefs
Jets at Rams: Pick: Rams
Eagles at Redskins: Pick: Redskins
Buccanneers at Panthers: Pick: Panthers
Jaguars at Texans: Pick: Texans
Saints at Raiders: Pick: Raiders
Chargers at Broncos: Pick: Broncos
Colts at Patriots: Pick: Patriots
Ravens at Steelers: Pick: Ravens
Bears at 49ers: Pick: 49ers

Im only picking two road teams this week, one of which is the favorite, the other, the Ravens are not currently the favorites, but If Rothlisberger doesnt play, which he likely wont, they will be. Next weeks edition of picks brings with it the first look at the standings of the season meaing we are entering the strectch run! will the Packers and Bears be tied after ten games? I hope so

NCAA week 12 picks

A 4-1 week picking Big Ten games last week, putting me at 30-6 on the season as we head into the stretch drive final two weeks. I continue to not be quite as good outside the Big Ten, going 3-2 last week for a 21-16 overall record.

Northwestern at Michigan St: Pick: Michigan St
Iowa at Michigan: Pick: Michigan
Indiana at Penn St: Pick: Penn St
Minnesota at Nebraska: Pick: Nebraska
Ohio st at Wisconsin: Pick: Wisconsin
Purdue at Illinois: Pick: Purdue

Outside the Big Ten
Stanford at Oregon: Pick: Oregon
Oklahoma at West Virginia: Pick: Oklahoma
USC at UCLA: Pick: USC
Texas Tech at Oklahoma st: Pick: Oklahoma St
Rutgers at Cincinatti: Pick: Cincinatti

Big Ten standings: Theres really not to much to be decided anymore with two weeks left, this is one of the more anticlimactic races down the stretch in recent memory. The Badgers clinched their ticket to indy yesterday, while the Cornhuskers and Wolverines are tied, but Nebraska holds the tiebreaker and Michigan still has to go to Ohio st, a likely loss. Put those two factors together and I think its 99.9% likely Nebraska will be the champions of their division. Iowa and Northwestern officially eliminated themselves yesterday, both losing games at the last minute they should have won.

Leaders Division
1. Nebraska (5-1)
2. Michigan (5-1)
3. Northwestern (3-3) E
4. Iowa (2-4) E
5. Minnesota (2-4) E
6. Michigan st (2-4) E

Nebraska is ahead of Michigan in terms of head to head tiebreaker, same for Iowa over Minnesota, and Minnesota is ahead of Michigan st because of one more overall win. Who would have thought Michigan st would be dead last in this division?

Leaders division
1. Wisconsin (4-2) *
2. Indiana (2-4) E
3. Purdue (1-5) E
4. Illinois (0-6) E

Updates Packers MVP standings

Last we checked, the Packers were six games into the season, since then theyve played three more so lets see what happened heading into the bye. All three games were wins, though none of them were overly impressive, but lets see who stepped up.

Week 7 Vs Rams: For the second straight week the full point goes to Aaron Rodgers with three touchdown passes, 30/37 passing and a 132.2 passer rating. The dagger to Cobb in the fourth quarter is probably the best offensive play of the season so far for the Pack. Half points go to Nelson and Cobb for eight receptions each on eight targets for Cobb, nine targets for Nelson. Two TDs for Cobb, one for Nelson, and a great 15.3 yard average completion for Nelson. On the defensive side, Casey Heyward gets a half point for a pick and just being a stud on defense the whole day. One more half point for Erik Walden, nine tackles, half sack, and two more QB hits.

Week 8 vs Jaguars: A rather uninspired performance for the Packers overall, no one really jumps out as an MVP. For the first time this year I think im giving away the MVP for simply one play, Davon House gets a full point for the blocked punt. Who knows where this game would have ended up without that play. James Jones gets a half point as well as Morgan Burnett who stepped up nicely in Woodsons absence.

Week 9 vs Cardinals: A better performance than the week before, but you could tell the Packers were playing like a team just looking to survive with a win and get to their bye week. Theres no really no doubt who the main MVP was in this one, Randall Cobb. 202 yards of offense, two TDs, nice kick returns, just a monster the whole game. Despite a really bad completion percentage Im giving Rodgers half a point for four TDs, but what sealed the deal was his recovered fumble, he dove in there hard and sacrificed himself to get that ball, rare for a QB. Heyward also gets another half point, continuing to be very impressive.

Standings through nine games
Erik Walden: 0.5 points
Morgan Burnett: 0.5 points
Davon House: 1 point
Randall Cobb: 2.5 points
Tim Masthay: 1 point
Clay Matthews: 1 point
Mason Crosby: 0.5 points
Tramon Williams: 0.5 points
John Kuhn: 0.5 points
AJ Hawk: 1.5 points
James Jones: 3 points
Aaron Rodgers: 3 points
Cedric Benson: 0.5 points
Jordy Nelson: 1 point
Alex Green: 0.5 points
Casey Heyward: 1.5 points

Overall five players have accumulated more than one point this year, and shockingly clay Matthews isnt one of them. Addmitedly, this way of doing team MVP isnt foolproof, no one is going to really say AJ Hawk has had a better year than Matthews, but he has more point here. This system does have Jones, Cobb, and Rodgers as the best players on the team so far this year and in that it is very right.

NBA week two picks

I went 2-1 in picking games last week, the fourth game, Knicks vs Nets was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy. Theres a doubleheader tonight on TNT so lets get to it

Thunder (2-2) at Bulls (3-1): The Thunder have kind of gotten off to a rocky start in their wetern conference defense, while the Bulls have played well without Rose, albeit with a easy schedule so far Pick: Thunder

Clippers (3-2) at Trailblazers (2-2): I dont think Portland is a very good team at all so Pick: Clippers

NFL Week 10 picks

I went a very impressive 13-1 last week, my best week of the season and continuing the pattern Ive had all season of good week, bad week. That means Im going to have a bad week this week but Im hoping to end that pattern. I am now 84-48 on the season, putting me ahead of 12 of the 14 ESPN experts, including their accuscore computer.

Colts at Jaguars: Pick: Jaguars
Giants at Bengals: Pick: Giants
Titans at Dolphins: Pick: Dolphins
Lions at Vikings: Pick: Vikings
Bills at Patriots: Pick: Patriots
Falcons at Saints: Pick: Saints
Chargers at Buccaneers: Pick: Bucanneers
Broncos at Panthers: Pick: Broncos
Raiders at Ravens: Pick: Ravens
Jets at Seahawks: Pick: Seahawks
Cowboys at Eagles: Pick: Eagles
Rams at 49ers: Pick: 49ers
Texans at Bears: Pick: Texans
Chiefs at Steelers: Pick: Steelers

NCAA week 11 picks

I went a perfect 5-0 in picking Big Ten games this week, successfully nailing upsets in Indiana and Nebraska. I went a less impressive 3-2 in non big ten games. My Big ten record stands at a nice 26-5, while my non big ten record stands at 18-14. 3 of my 5 big ten losses were in games involving Michigan st.

Wisconsin at Indiana: Pick: Wisconsin
Northwestern at Michigan: Pick: Michigan
Purdue at Iowa: Pick: Iowa
Penn st at Nebraska: Pick: Nebraska
Minnesota at Illinois: Pick: Minnesota

Outside the Big ten
Texas A&M at Alabama: Pick: Alabama
Mississippi st at LSU: Pick: LSU
Oregon st at Stanford: Pick: Stanford
Kansas st at TCU: Pick: Kansas st
Louisville at Syracuse: Pick: Louisville

Big ten standings: The big story this week is back to back wins for Indiana propelling them into the leaders division discussion. A win for the Hoosiers at home against the Badgers next weekend puts Indiana in the drivers seat in that division. If Nebraska would have lost to the Spartans, this would have started to get crazy in the legends division, but the Huskers hung on and are still in good position to come away with that division. We had a couple eliminations this week as well, lets take a look:

Legends division
1. Nebraska (4-1)
2. Michigan (4-1)
3. Northwestern (3-2)
4. Iowa (2-3)
5. Michigan st (2-4) E
6. Minnesota (1-4) E

Leaders division
1. Wisconsin (3-2)
2. Indiana (2-3)
3. Purdue (0-5) E
4. Illinois (0-5) E

Only six teams still have Rose Bowl hopes, and most surprising among them is the Indiana Hoosiers. If the Badgers win Saturday, they will officially clinch a spot in the Big Ten championship game, if Indiana wins, they will have the same record, and the Badgers still have to play Ohio st and Penn st so itd be very hard for them to catch up, so its pretty safe to say the winner of this saturdays game will be in Indianapolis in December.

Week 9 NFL picks

An average week last week with an 8-6 record, it seems like I have alternating this season. One week I have a really good week, the next, not so much. I now stand at 71-47 on the season, a .602 win percentage.

Chiefs at Chargers: Pick: Chargers
Cardinals at Packers: Pick: Packers
Broncos at Bengals: Pick: Broncos
Ravens at Browns: Pick: Ravens
Bears at Titans: Pick: Bears
Dolphins at Colts: Pick: Colts
Panthers at Redskins: Pick: Redskins
Lions at Jaguars: Pick: Lions
Bills at Texans: Pick: Texans
Buccanneers at Raiders: Pick: Buccaneers
Vikings at Seahawks: Pick: Seahawks
Steelers at Giants: Pick: Steelers
Cowboys at Falcons: Pick: Falcons
Eagles at Saints: Pick: Saints

NBA week one picks

Throughout the season, I will predict the Thursday night basketball TNT games, but with the NBA season starting tomorrow with a couple exciting games, I figured Id start the year with a special Tuesday night edition of NBA picks.

Celtics at Heat: If this game were in Boston Id give it some thought, but since its in Miami, where theyll be emotional raising the championship banner, Ill take the Heat. Pick: Heat

Mavericks at Lakers: Again, give me the home team. Pick: Lakers

Thursday night

Knicks at Nets: The opening of the Barclays center, and the Knicks are going to spoil the party. Pick: Knicks

Thunder at Spurs: pick: Spurs

NCAA week 10 picks

I went 4-2 in picking Big Ten games this week, putting me at a nice 21-5 on the season. Another tough week outside the Big ten though, with a 1-2 record, now standing at 15-12 on the season.

Iowa at Indiana: Pick: Indiana
Nebraska at Michigan st: Pick: Nebraska
Michigan at Minnesota: Pick: Michigan
Illinois at Ohio st: Pick: Ohio st
Penn st at Purdue: Pick: Penn st

Outside the Big Ten. Now that the season is in the stretch run, Ill be extending the amount of games I pick outside the Big ten to five per week

Alabama at LSU: Pick: Alabama
Oregon at USC: Pick: Oregon
Texas A&M at Mississippi St: Pick: Texas A&M
Texas at texas Tech: Pick: Texas Tech
Oklahoma st at Kansas St: upset special! Pick: Oklahoma st

Big Ten standings: Too little to late for the Spartans, they win, but are still pretty much out of the race. Iowa and Michigan took big steps back and now it appears to be Nebraskas division to lose. The Badgers lost but as long as they beat Indiana they still wont be challenged for the division title.

Legends division:
1. Nebraska: 3-1
2. Michigan: 3-1
3. Northwestern: 3-2
4. Iowa: 2-2
5. Michigan st: 2-3
6. Minnesota: 1-3

Leaders Divison:
1. Wisconsin: 3-2
2. Indiana: 1-3
3. Purdue: 0-4
4. Illinois: 0-4

Nobody had been eliminated yet in either division but expect the eliminations to start this week.

Week 8 NFL picks

I came back to form last week, going 10-3 and improving to 63-41 for the season, a .606 win percentage.

Buccaneers at Vikings: Pick: Vikings
Jaguars at Packers: Pick: Packers
Panthers at Bears: Pick: Bears
Chargers at Browns: Pick: Chargers
Seahawks at Lions: Pick: Lions
Colts at Titans: Pick: Titans
Patriots at Rams: Pick: Patriots
Dolphins at Jets: Pick: Jets
Falcons at Eagles: Pick: Eagles
Redskins at Steelers: Pick: Steelers
Raiders at Chiefs: Pick: Raiders
Giants at Cowboys: Pick: Cowboys
Saints at Broncos: Pick: Broncos
49ers at Cardinals: Pick: 49ers

NCAA week 9 picks

I wnt 4-1 in picking Big Ten games last week, now standing at an impressive 17-3 on the season.  I wonder if I was drunk when I picked my non big ten games though, I went 0-3 in those contests, and I honestly am not sure what I was thinking on a couple of them. Oh well, 14-10 in non Big ten games on the year.

Iowa at Northwestern: Pick: Northwestern
Indiana at Illinois: Pick: Indiana
Purdue at Minnesota: Pick: Purdue
Michigan st at Wisconsin: Pick: Wisconsin
Ohio st at Penn st: Pick: Ohio st
Michigan at Nebraska: Pick: Nebraska

Wow, those are all really tough games, it will be interesting to see how I do this week in my picks.

Outside the Big ten

Florida at Georgia: Pick: Florida
Notre Dame at Oklahoma: Pick: Oklahoma
Texas Tech at Kansas St: Pick: Kansas st

Big ten standings: Well, the legends division, which was a five team race going into the week, is now a four team race with Michigan st bowing out, and Northwestern and Iowa are both on the brink of bowing out themselves. It looked for a second like Purdue may actually throw themselves back into the conversation but then faltered against Ohio st and the Badgers now have a huge amount of seperation in what appears to be an inseperable lead. Who would have thought Michigan st would be out of it just halfway through the Big ten season? The official magic number for them to be eliminated is already down to two.

Legends division
1. Michigan (3-0)
2. Nebraska (2-1)
3. Iowa (2-1)
4. Northwestern (2-2)
5. Michigan st (1-3)
6. Minnesota (0-3)

Leaders division
1. Wisconsin (3-1)
2. Purdue (0-3)
3. Illinois (0-3)
4. Indiana (0-3)

The magic number for Purdue and Illinois to be eliminated is two, and for Indiana it is three.

Looking at the national picture, Kansas st, Rutgers, Louisville, Notre Dame, Ohio, Oregon, Oregon st, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi st, and Ohio st are the remaining undefeated teams. When will these teams lose? lets take a look.

Kansas st has five matchups left against top 30 teams, but the highest ranked of the bunch is against number 17 texas tech. At TCU may be their hardest game left.

Rutgers plays Louisville this week in a game that will eliminate one of those unbeaten

Notre Dame has games at Oklahoma and USC, they wont win both, if either

Ohio isnt a BCS team, nor a legitimate championsip threat

Oregon will go undefeated, at least until the Pac 12 championship

Oregon st will lose to Oregon in late November

Florida will be unbeaten until they play FSU. If they get past that, they wont beat Bama in the sec championship game

Bama will go unbeaten through the regular season

Miss St will lose to Alabama this week

Ohio st is ineligble

Of the 11 teams, I see no way Notre Dame, Florida, Oregon st, or Mississippi st finish undefeated.

Ohio and Ohio st wont be in the championship game even if they do go undefeated.

No Big East will make the championship game

So in my humble opinion, the only team that can disrupt an oregon-Bama championship is Kansas st. Unless Oregon loses to USC in either the regular season or the PAC 12 championship game. Then we may have chaos on our hands.

NBA standings predictions

Because Im bored

Western conference:

1. OKC Thunder
2. LA Lakers
3. San Antonio Spurs
4. Denver Nuggets
5.LA Clippers
6. Utah Jazz
7. Minnesota Timberwolves
8. Memphis Grizzlies
9. Dallas Mavericks
10. Golden State Warriors
11. Portland Trailblazers
12. New Orleans Hornets
13. Houston Rockets
14. Phoenix Suns
15. Sacramento Kings

Eastern Conference
1. Miami Heat
2. Boston Celtics
3. New York Knicks
4. Atlanta Hawks
5. Indiana Pacers
6. Brooklyn Nets
7. Philadelphia 76ers
8. Chicago Bulls
9. Milwaukee Bucks
10. Cleveland Cavaliers
11. Washington Wizards
12. Orlando Magic
13. Toronto Raptors
14. Detroit Pistons
15. Charlotte Bobcats

Updated packers MVP standings

I havent dont MVP for Packers games since week two, but I figured Id go back over the past four games and name my MVPs and see where the team ranks through six games. here are the standings after two games.

Cobb: 1 point
Matthews: 1 point
Masthay: 0.5 points
Crosby: 0.5 points
Williams: 0.5 points
Kuhn: 0.5 points

The rules are only one point is awarded after a loss, after a win one point is awarded to the top MVP, then several half points may be awarded to other players.

Week 3 vs Seahawks: Most of the reason I didnt do MVP after the second game was because this game was such a dumpster fire it was nearly impossible for me to think of an MVP. I ended up narrowing it down between Finley and Hawk, choosing Hawk at the end of the day, mostly because the defense as a whole performed much better than the offense as a whole, plus Finley still had a couple drops. One point for AJ Hawk

Week 4 vs Saints: James Jones takes away a full point for this game. Two touchdown receptions, plus a crazy catch to ice the games. Rodgers finally makes an appearance in the MVP talk, but only with a half point. Cedric Benson also gets half a point, with his most productive game of the season to date.

Week 5 Vs Colts: This one was even tougher than the Seahawks game. No one played at a great level, but several played at a high level to be considered here. Unlike the Seahawks game where i easily narrowed it to two, I narrowed this one down to DJ Smith, James Jones, Clay Matthews, and even Tim Masthay. I was just about to give it to Masthay, but ended up giving it to Jones, for a second straight week too.

Week 6 Vs Texans: Finally, after six games, Rodgers takes home the MVP of the week honors for the team. For a third straight week, Jones gets on the board with a half a point this time. Jordy Nelson also gets a half point, along with Alex green, who had an effective game in his first try as a starter this year. On the defensive side Casey Hayward gets a half point for two picks, as well as Hawk with yet another solid game. Finally, tim Masthay gets a half point, with 3 punts inside the 20. It wasnt a stand out performance, but with his four inside the 20 last week, i figured the two games combined should earn him at least a half point. Clearly, this was the most complete game of the season, as evidenced by the long list of names.

Now, the standings through six games this season:
Randall Cobb: 1 point
Tim Masthay: 1 point
Clay Matthews: 1 point
Mason Crosby: 0.5 points
Tramon Williams: 0.5 points
John Kuhn: 0.5 points
AJ Hawk: 1.5 points
James Jones: 2.5 points
Aaron Rodgers: 1.5 points
Cedric Benson: 0.5 points
Jordy Nelson: 0.5 points
Alex Green: 0.5 points
Casey Hayward: 0.5 points

James Jones, Aaron Rodgers, and AJ Hawk lead the way so far this year. One of those names is not surprising, the other two very much are, but theyve both really deserved it, especially Jones. Hopefully they keep it up!

NFL week 7 picks

I went an average 7-7 week last week, my second worst week of the season percentage wise, I have a 53-38 season record, a .582 winning percentage. I would really like to have a .600 percentage for the year so I have some work to do.

Seahawks at 49ers: pick: 49ers. The first couple weeks of the season I said I will almost always take the home team in a Thursday night game, then I got burned picking Carolina over the Giants, so I started taking roads teams, only to get burned the past two weeks by St Louis and Tennessee. Back to the home team.

Titans at Bills: Pick: Bills
Browns at Colts: Pick: Colts
Packers at Rams: Pick: Packers. I actually picked against my Packers last week and they proved me wrong. I wont pick against them again for awhile.
Cardinals at Vikings: Tough one, gotta take the queens unfortunately. Pick: Vikings
Redskins at Giants: Big upset, Im taking the skins. This is a classic trap game for the Giants, who always perform out of their minds when people expect them lose, but then follow it up with a lackluster performance to an inferior team. Pick: Redskins
Saints at Buccaneers: Pick: Saints
Cowboys at Panthers: Pick: Cowboys
Ravens at Texans: Pick: Texans
Jaguars at Raiders: Pick: Raiders
Jets at Patriots: Pick: Patriots
Steelers at Bengals: Pick: Bengals going for another upset!
Lions at Bears: Pick: Bears

NCAA week 8 picks

I went 4-1 in picking Big Ten games last week, putting me at 13-2 overall for the season. Both of my losses came from picking Michigan st to win when they lost. I wont make that mistake again. I went 2-1 outside the Big Ten, and am now 14-7 in those games this season.

Purdue at Ohio St: Pick: Ohio st
Minnesota at Wisconsin: Pick: Wisconsin
Nebraska at Northwestern: Pick: Nebraska
Michigan st at Michigan: Pick: Michigan
Penn St at Iowa: Pick: Iowa

Outside the Big Ten
South Carolina at Florida: Pick: South Carolina
Kansas St at West Virginia: Pick: West Virginia
LSU at Texas A&M: Pick: Texas A&M

Big ten Standings: Its a tale of two divisons right now. The legends division is an absolute crapshoot, literally any of the six teams except for maybe Minnesota can make a legitimate case they will be in the Big Ten championship game, although Michigan states chance is dwindling. If the Spartans and Wildcats both lose this week like I think they will, that should eliminate those two teams and leave a three team race in place in that division between Michigan, Nebraska, and Iowa. If the Spartans somehow beat Michigan, it could get very crazy in that division race. In the Leaders division, the Badgers can basically hit the snooze button. They have a two game lead against three teams who lok incapable of winning two games. One more win for Wisconsin should be the nail in the coffin, and that win should come this weekend against the Gophers.

Legends
1. Iowa (2-0)
2. Michigan (2-0)
3. Northwesterm (2-1)
4. Nebraska (1-1)
5. Michigan st (1-2)
6. Minnesota (0-2)

Leaders
1. Wisconsin (2-1)
2. Purdue (0-2)
3. Indiana (0-3)
4. Illinois (0-3)

NFL week six picks

I went 9-5 last week, to improve to 46-31 on the season. To compare myself to the ESPN experts, I have a better record than Mike Ditka, Mark Schlereth, Ron Jaworski, Keyshawn Johnson, Tom Jackson, Marcus Allen, and Accuscore, which means I have a better record than a computer. I am way behind Chris Mortensen and Adam Wickersham, who are having great seasons picking games. I am tied with Merril Hoge and Chris Carter, and I am withing two games of Mike Golic, and Adam Schefter. lets get to it

Steelers at Titans: Pick: Steelers
Raiders at Falcons: Pick: Falcons
Bengals at Browns: Pick: Bengals
Rams at Dolphins: Pick: Dolphins
Colts at Jets: Pick: Jets
Lions at Eagles: Pick: Eagles
Chiefs at Buccaneers: Pick: Buccaneers
Cowboys at Ravens: Pick: Ravens
Bills at Cardinals: Pick: Cardinals
Patriots at Seahawks: Pick: Patriots
Giants at 49ers: Pick: 49ers
Vikings at Redskins: Pick: Redskins
Packers at Texans: Pick: Texans
Broncos at Chargers: Pick: Broncos

NCAA week seven picks

I went a perfect 5-0 in picking big Ten games this week, putting me at a stellar 9-1 after two weeks. I went a less than perfect 1-2 in picking non Big ten games, but still stand at 12-6 in the category for the season.

Iowa at Michigan st: Pick: Michigan St

Northwestern at Minnesota: Pick: Northwestern

Wisconsin at Purdue: Pick: Wisconsin

Illinois at Michigan: Pick: Michigan

Ohio state at Indiana: Pick: Ohio st

Big ten standings through two weeks (Eligible teams only.)

legends
1. Iowa: 1-0
2. Michigan: 1-0
3. Northwestern: 1-1
4. Michigan st: 1-1
5. Nebraska: 1-1
6. Minnesota: 0-1

Leaders
1. WIsconsin: 1-1
2. Purdue: 0-1
3. Indiana: 0-2
4.Illinois: 0-2

Outside the Big Ten

South Carolina at LSU: Pick: LSU
Stanford at Notre Dame: pick: Stanford
Texas at Oklahoma: Pick: Oklahoma

NFL week 5 picks

I went a nice 12-3 last week, a huge improvement over the week before, though some of the games were easier to predict. I now stand at 37-26 on the season, better than most of the experts.

Cardinals at Rams: Pick: Cardinals

Dolphins at Bengals: Pick: Bengals

Packers at Colts: Pick: Packers

Ravens at Chiefs: Pick: Ravens

Browns at Giants: pick: Giants

Eagles at Steelers: Pick: Steelers

Falcons at Redskins: Pick: Redskins

Seahawks at Panthers: Pick: Panthers

Bears at Jaguars: Pick: Bears

Titans at Vikings: Pick: Vikings

Broncos at Patriots: pick: Patriots

Bills at 49ers: pick: 49ers

Chargers at Saints: Pick: Saints

Texans at Jets: Pick: Texans

Week 6 NCAA picks

Wow, sixth week of college football already, I went 4-1 in picking Big Ten games in the first week of conference action, a good start. Plus 2-1 in games outside of the Big Ten, making me 11-4 in those games so far this season.

Michigan st at Indiana: Pick: Michigan st

Northwestern at Penn st: Pick: Penn St

Illinois at Wisconsin: Pick: Wisconsin

Michigan at Purdue: Pick: Michigan

Nebraska at Ohio st: Pick: Ohio St

Outside the Big ten

LSU at Florida: Pick: LSU

Georgia at South Carolina: Pick: Georgia

West Virginia at Texas: Pick: West Virginia

Thats right, all road teams in these big games, bold picks this week!

Week 5 NCAA pick

I went 7-3 in Big ten gaes last week, finishing 34-12 in the "preseason." I went 2-1 in non Big ten games, so I currently stand at 9-3 in those games. Now the conference season finally begins!

Indiana at Northwestern: Pick: Northwestern

Penn State at Illinois: Pick: Penn St

Minnesota at Iowa: Pick: Iowa

Ohio st at Michigan st: Pick: Michigan st

Wisconsin at Nebraska: Pick: Nebraska

Outside the Big ten
Missouri at UCF: Pick: UCF
Texas at Oklahoma st: Pick: Texas
Baylor at West Virginia: Pick: West Virginia

NCAA Week 4 picks

I went 10-2 in picking Big Ten games last week, 2-1 in games outside the Big Ten. So Far I am 27-9 in picking Big ten Games, but like I have said this is basically the preseason of picking games, a lot of them are easy picks. I am also a nice 7-2 in picking games in other conferences. This is the final week of non conference play in the Big ten, thank God, next week we get to the real games. Here we go:

UAB at Ohio St: I dont understand how Ohio st can be at home for four straight weeks to start the year, all against very inferior opponents. Whatever, im over it theyre going to East Lansing next week, and they wont be ready because they havent been road tested yet. Pick: Ohio st

Central Michigan at Iowa: Iowa has looked brutal so far this year, which can probably be said for about sic other big ten teams to a degree. Give them a win here though. Pick: Iowa

South Dakota at Northwestern: Who had Minnesota and Northwestern as the last unbeaten teams in the Big ten? didnt think so. The Wildcats will actually be undefeated heading into conference play, impressive. Pick: Northwestern

Eaastern Michigan at Michigan st: After last weeks ugly loss, Michigan st gets a breather this week. Pick: sparty

Idaho st at Nebraska: Another gimme game, conference play cant get here soon enough. Pick: Nebraska

Temple at Penn St: The Lions looked decent last week, I like their chances of evening up their record, though it wont be easy. Pick: Penn St

Michigan at Notre Dame: The only watchable game in the Big ten this week. Unfortunately, I think Notre Dame makes it a clean sweep of the conference this year. Pick:Notre Dame

Syracuse at Minnesota: I keep picking against the Gophers and they keep winning. Maybe its just wishful thinking, but Im doing ti again. Pick: Syracuse

Louisiana Tech at Illinois: One more gimme game. Pick: Illinois

As unappetizing as the Big ten slate is this week, thank god there is some really good games on tap outside the conference.

Kansas st at Oklahoma: Pick: Oklahoma
Clemson at Florida st: Pick: Florida St
Arizona at oregon: Pick: Oregon

Week 4 NFL picks

I went an embarrassing 6-10 last week, 25-23 on the season now.

Browns at Ravens: Pick: Ravens

Panthers at Falcons: Pick: Falcons

Patriots at Bills: Pick: Patriots

Vikings at Lions: Pick: Lions

Chargers at Chiefs: Pick: Chargers

Seahawks at Rams: Pick: Rams

49ers at Jets: Pick: 49ers

Titans at Texans: Pick: Texans

Raiders at Broncos: Pick: Broncos

Dolphins at Cardinals: Pick: Cardinals

Bengals at Jaguars: Pick: Bengals

Saints at Packers: Pick: Packers

Redskins at Buccanneers: Pick: Buccaneers

Giants at Eagles: Pick: Eagles

Bears at Cowboys: Pick: Cowboys

NCAA Week 4 picks

I went 10-2 in picking Big Ten games last week, 2-1 in games outside the Big Ten. So Far I am 27-9 in picking Big ten Games, but like I have said this is basically the preseason of picking games, a lot of them are easy picks. I am also a nice 7-2 in picking games in other conferences. This is the final week of non conference play in the Big ten, thank God, next week we get to the real games. Here we go:

UAB at Ohio St: I dont understand how Ohio st can be at home for four straight weeks to start the year, all against very inferior opponents. Whatever, im over it theyre going to East Lansing next week, and they wont be ready because they havent been road tested yet. Pick: Ohio st

Central Michigan at Iowa: Iowa has looked brutal so far this year, which can probably be said for about sic other big ten teams to a degree. Give them a win here though. Pick: Iowa

South Dakota at Northwestern: Who had Minnesota and Northwestern as the last unbeaten teams in the Big ten? didnt think so. The Wildcats will actually be undefeated heading into conference play, impressive. Pick: Northwestern

Eaastern Michigan at Michigan st: After last weeks ugly loss, Michigan st gets a breather this week. Pick: sparty

Idaho st at Nebraska: Another gimme game, conference play cant get here soon enough. Pick: Nebraska

Temple at Penn St: The Lions looked decent last week, I like their chances of evening up their record, though it wont be easy. Pick: Penn St

Michigan at Notre Dame: The only watchable game in the Big ten this week. Unfortunately, I think Notre Dame makes it a clean sweep of the conference this year. Pick:Notre Dame

Syracuse at Minnesota: I keep picking against the Gophers and they keep winning. Maybe its just wishful thinking, but Im doing ti again. Pick: Syracuse

Louisiana Tech at Illinois: One more gimme game. Pick: Illinois

As unappetizing as the Big ten slate is this week, thank god there is some really good games on tap outside the conference.

Kansas st at Oklahoma: Pick: Oklahome
Clemson at Florida st: Pick: Florida St
Arizona at oregon: Pick: Oregon

Week 3 NFL Picks

After a rough week one, I went a cool 11-5 last week in picking games including nailing upset picks in the Panthers over the Saints, and Rams over the Redskins. I looked foolish however in my Raiders over Dolphins and Titans over Chargers picks. after two weeks I stand at 19-13 on the season, which is better than a lot of the "experts" featured on ESPN.

Giants at Panthers: A tough one right off the bat. After picking them to beat the Saints, it would take a lot of guts to pick the Panthers over another top team in the Giants. Guess what, Im going to do it. Until proven otherwise, im taking home teams in close Thursday night matchups because I think the short turnaround is a big benefit to the home team. Pick: Panthers

Rams at Bears: In a recurring theme so far through two weeks, the NFC West, the doormat of the NFL the past few seasons has had a strong showing so far this year. The Rams nearly beat Detroit on the road, then took out RG3, but I think the Bears, with the benefit of extra rest, bounce back this week. Pick:Bears

Bills at Browns: Yawn. Pick: Bills

Buccaneers at Cowboys: Will the real Cowboys please stand up? after beating the champs, they got dominated by the seahawks on the road. The Buccaneers are coming off a tough loss, and Im not sure theyll recover in time for this one. Pick: Cowboys

Lions at Titans: I picked the Titans to pull off an upset and got burned big time. I guess this team wont be a darkhorse like I thought they may be. Detroit has looked less than stellar, but will get a win here I think. Pick: Lions

Jaguars at Colts: Im not going to be shocked if Jacksonville contends for 0-16 this year. I think theyll be that bad. The Colts are back baby, well not really, but 2-1 is something to build on. Pick: Colts

Jets at Dolphins: I honestly have no clue what to expect in this game, but Ive disrespected both these teams so far by picking against them both games, and each of them came out with one convincing win to prove me wrong. Gimme the home team I guess. Pick: Dolphins

49ers at Vikings: Now that the queens are back to reality after their cinderella 1-0 start, theyll begin their usual freefall towards rock bottom in the division standings. Pick: 49ers

Chiefs at Saints: If youll recall, in my week one picks I said the Chiefs would have a decent year and make a playoff push. Im fully redacting that, they may be the worst team in the NFL through two weeks. I was so relieved when I saw the Saints had an easy win this week, because I do not want them 0-3 heading into Lambeau. Pick: Saints

Bengals at Redskins: The skins were picked by many to be on a playoff run after their week one victory, but then reality struck hard with a tough loss in St Louis and now a slew of injuries. RG3 will still put up big rookie numbers, but its going to be hard to overcome those injuries for a playoff push. Pick: Bengals

Eagles at Cardinals: Like the Rams and Seahawks, another NFC west doormat has impressed in the first two games The Cardinals however, have been the most impressive, with a big win in New England. Im not saying im a believer, but I will pick them to go 3-0. Pick: Cardinals

Falcons at Chargers: Another matchup of 2-0 teams. The Falcons probably been the second most impressive team in the NFL so far besides the 49ers. The Chargers have been the least impressive 2-0 team in recent memory. Ill take them at home though, since I picked against them last week at home and they proved me wrong. Pick: Chargers

Texans at Broncos: I really like the Texans, and Maybe Payton really isnt back to top form yet after all. Pick: Texans

Steelers at Raiders: I picked Oakland last week, and they looked god awful. Not making that mistake again. Pick: Pittsburgh

Patriots at Ravens: If the Pats beat the Cards Id take the Ravens, but the Pats always seem to bounce back strong after a suprising loss, so now Im going with them. Pick: Pats

Badgers escape with undeserved 16-14 win

It was supposed to be the game where the Badgers put two awful performances behind them and come out playing inspired football. They were supposed to be the team we expected before the season started. Instead, it was more of the same as the Badgers put out their third straight atrocious offensive performance, and the growing feeling is this may be what we see all season long.

If it werent for a long punt return by Kenzel Doe, the Badgers would have lost this game. After falling behind 14-3 early, Wisconsin got the punt return, then another touchdown from Montee Ball to take a 16-14 lead in the third, after Kyle French missed the extra point, his second missed extra point in six tries this season. From there, they hung on by their fingernails, as a shirt field goal was missed as time expired.

There has been a lot thing go badly for the Badgers through the first two games but I want to highlight the two numbers that terrify me the most.

0: the number of turnovers the Badgers have forced in the first three games. Many people have said the defense has been a bright spot so far this season, and they have played well, but their inability to create turnovers has not gone unnoticed by me.

31.1: The Badgers third down conversion rate, a stunning 24 percent drop off from last season. Not many games are going to be won if your converting less than a third of your third downs. Even more startling is the number of failed third and short attempts the Badgers put out Saturday.

Danny O Brien was pulled in this game but I hope he returns this week because Stave was horrendous in my opinion. Matt Canada still had no idea what hes doing playcalling wise, three weeks in a row now. Bret Bielema called an idiotic timeout with less than thirty seconds left in the game that baffled me and many others. Those are just a few observations from Saturdays game.

If this team plays like this all year they will go 2-6 in Big ten play. They better get it together offensively, through 3 games they are 113th in the country out of 120 teams in points per game, and this is against bad teams!

Im exhausted covering this team already this year, hopefully it gets better, because theres still nine games left.

Up Next: UTEP 11:00 AM

Wisconsin (1-1) Vs Utah St (2-0)

The Badgers return to Camp Randall after their embarrassing defeat a week ago at the hands of Oregon St. Utah st is coming off a big win over rival Utah, and are probably feeling pretty confident about their prospects in this game. However, Wisconsins home performances the last couple of years have been significantly  better  than their road performances. The Badgers have won seventeen straight homes games, most of them have been slaughters, even against the good teams. The badgers are favored by 14.5 points in this game, a spread which I dont feel to comfortable picking the Badgers to cover.

Montee Ball comes into this game averaging just 3.9 yards per carry so far on the year. He really cant afford to have any more bad performances if he plans to be in the Heisman hunt come November. Danny O'Brien has also been less than impressive, but its hard to tell if this is his fault, or if OC Matt Canada isnt giving him the opportunity to show what he can do.

Looking back, this start probably shouldnt be much of a shock. With a completely different offensive line, different quarterback, and different receivers, there was no chance the offense was simply going to pick up where it left off last year. Still, 16.5 points per game is an incredible drop off, but I have faith the offense will improve.

Utah st has an explosive offense that can rack up yards and points with the best of them. Last year they 448 yards and 38 points against an SEC defense, but still lost, showing their defense is pretty suspect. Their offense is led by 6'1" QB Charlie Keeton, who last week threw for two touchdowns, completed seventy percent of his passes, and added another 86 yards rushing, and hes only a sophomore.

Prediction: As I said before, I cant predict the Badgers to cover the spread the way theyve been playing, But i do think they will come away with the win. Badgers 31-21

Packers D throttles Jay Cutler, win 23-10

You could almost feel the tension among Packer fans heading into Lambeau Field yesterday. It was almost like a somber and quiet atmosphere like one I had never seen before during a Packer tailgate, usually festive and upbeat. Everyone knew this was basically a must win. Maybe not in the long term, but if the Packers lost this game theyd definitely lose their title at least temporarily as the beasts of the division.

The defense would have none of that. Forcing seven sacks, four interceptions, and basically mauling Jay cutler and turning his night into a personal hell, much to the delight of the Lambeau faithful.

This was the first time in forever that the defense won the Packers a game. It didnt happen a single time last year, so it really has been a very long time. Honestly, this is the sort of game I was craving. Some people are panicking over the offense kind of sputtering again and I couldnt care less. I know the offense will come around at some point, I would have much rather seen a game like we saw yesterday than the 45-38, 42-34, 35-26, 45-41 games we saw last year. This was so refreshing to watch, and if the defense really is as good as it was yesterday, this team will no doubt be holding the Lombardi trophy in February.

There is no reason to be worried about the offense. So far this year the offense has put up 15.5 points per game, which is obviously not at all good, but like I said earlier they will come around, maybe next Monday night at Seattle will be the night it will, maybe not, but it will at some point this season, and it will be sooner rather than later dont worry. The defense needed to be the unit that won this game for the Packers, and they stepped up to the challenge. Bravo

I have a confession to make. I hate Jay Cutler. I know Im not alone in that camp, but I just can not stand his pouty face, standoffish personality. So to have Lambeau Field be his house of horrors is very satisfying to me. he now 0-3 with 2 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his career at Lambeau. To be a part of the crowd that got into his head last night was also very satisying. To see our our defense toss him around like a rag doll was one of the most satisfying things I have ever witnessed. It was awesome.

Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and the Bears fans were talking crap all week. Their heads got way to big after defeating the mighty colts, and you could tell the Bears were getting pretty full of themselves. Reality Check: Until further notice, you are still the Packers bitch.

So far this recap has been a jumble of thoughts, but now to actually dissect parts of the game. How about the stones on Mccarthy to call that fake field goal? The second I realized it was a fake, I screamed "what!?" I mean, does he not realize its 4th and 26! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jp3dMH4Kvc Dont click that link, just dont. Then I saw a massive hole in front of Crabtree, almost like there wasnt a single Bear on the field. Obviously the turning point of the game.

Tramon Williams was all over Brandon Marshall like a blanket the whole game. He was a big reason for the Packers drop off in defense last season, but it appears he has returned to pro bowl form. Thats great news for Packers fans.

Jarrett Bush didnt play a single snap on defense for the first time in two years, and the Packers had their best defensive performance in two years. Coincidence?

Once again I have to take issue with Mccarthys clock management at the end of the first half. Instead of letting the clock run down to two seconds and kick a field goal, why not call it with ten and take one shot at the endzone from just seventeen yards away? My one gripe with Mccarthy for seven years now has been his clock management in the final two minutes of first halves. Hes 0 for 2 already this year in that department in my opinion.

Why is this team having such a hard time converting third and ones? Two pathetic attempts last night, both falling short. Maybe the deep pass to Nelson wasnt such an awful call after all, since this team cant run for that yard anyway.

Despite the above complaint, the running game was solid, Benson had 81 yards, and had more carries yesterday than any Packers RB had in any single game last year.

The Claymaker is back baby. Already as many sacks in two games this year than all of last year.

Lambeau went absolutley nuts seeing Donald Driver get a touchdown reception. And the crowd ate up his little dance he did. They had to have replayed that dance on the video boards at least ten times.

My one dud yesterday was DJ Smith. He was called for a PI, should have been called for another, and was terrible in coverage on the Bears lone touchdown.

The drops keep adding up for the receiver corps. I counted two for Nelson, a couple more from Finley, one from Cobb, and at least one from Jones. People keep asking whats wrong with Rodgers, but he still has a 90+ QB rating through two games this year. Thats well above the league average, and if his receivers could catch the way they should, hed be over 100. I think we're just to spoiled by his usualy amazingness, that we say he had a "bad" game when its still well above average compared to other NFL Qbs.

MVP: Making up the rules as I go, on losses I will give one MVP out, who will be awarded a point, on wins I will also give one MVP, for a point, then several players can receive half points, basically honorable mentions. The MVP of this game was definitely Clay Matthews. 3.5 sacks, all over Cutler the whole game, and the Bears got so desperate they resorted to holding him every play (which went uncalled every time, moron replacement refs.) half points go to Tramon Williams, with two picks, Mason Crosby, 3/3 field goals, including a 54 yarder, the longest ever by a Packer kicker at Lambeau. Another half point goes to Tim Masthay. Masthay gets a half point for his punting services alone, tack on a touchdown pass, and its really a no brainer. Ill also toss in a half point for John Kuhn, for making some really good blocks on running plays, but mostly for his kick ass tackle on Devin Hester. The standings through two games are as follows

Cobb: 1 point
Matthews: 1 point
Masthay: 0.5 points
Crosby: 0.5 points
Williams: 0.5 points
Kuhn: 0.5 points


Up Next: The Packers head west to take on the Seahawks on Monday Night football

you clicked on that link didnt you? Well heres something to put you back in a happy mood