NCAA Week Six Picks

I went 7-2 in picking Big Ten Games, and 3-2 in interconference Big Ten Games. I went 2-1 outside the Big Ten this week.
46-13 Big Ten
4-2 Interconference Big Ten
9-6 Outside Big Ten

Observations for the week
1. September ends with 15 remaining undefeated teams in the power five conferences. Its going to be a great upcoming week as at least 4 of those undefeated teams will fall as we have four games with week with undefeated teams facing each other.
2. Seriously, this upcoming week is going to be amazing. Nebraska-Michigan St, Alabama-Ole Miss, Texas A&M-Mississippi St, Auburn-LSU, Oklahoma-TCU, and Stanford-Notre Dame are the highlights. There are some exciting complementary games as well such as Florida-Tennessee, Arizona St-USC and Baylor-Texas.
3. Michigan is a disaster. Getting throttled to lowly Minnesota at home? unthinkable. What a mess for that program.
4. UCLA FINALLY played to their potential in destroying Arizona St on the road. After a string of uninspiring performances, this week they showed signs of hope that they may be as good as expected.
5. South Carolina has all but bowed out of the SEC picture and the National Championship picture. I am not sure how they continue to get the reputation as being a premier football school when they've never even been to a BCS bowl.
6. Florida St is absolutely not going undefeated this season. it is not going to happen. No way-no how.

Week Six Picks
Purdue @ Illinois: Pick: Illinois
Ohio St @ Maryland: Pick: Ohio St
North Texas @ Indiana: Pick: Indiana
Wisconsin @ Northwestern: Pick: Wisconsin
Michigan @ Rutgers: Pick: Rutgers
Nebraska @ Michigan St: Pick: Michigan St

Outside the Big Ten
Alabama @ Ole Miss: Pick: Alabama
LSU @ Auburn: Pick: Auburn
Stanford @ Notre Dame: Pick: Notre Dame

Its time for the first look at the Big Ten Standings, though there's not really a whole lot to see as of yet.

East Division
1. Maryland: 1-0
2. Penn St: 1-1
3. Michigan St: 0-0
4. Ohio St: 0-0
5. Indiana: 0-1
6. Michigan: 0-1
7. Rutgers: 0-1

West Division
1. Nebraska: 1-0
2. Iowa: 1-0
3. Northwestern: 1-0
4. Minnesota: 1-0
5. Wisconsin: 0-0
6. Illinois: 0-1
7. Purdue: 0-1

All the "experts" criticized the divisions for being unequal, as everybody said the east division was far better than the west division, but so far the west division has a 2-0 record against the east. Something to keep an eye on. 

NCAA Week Five Picks

September is about to wrap up already and College Football is about to get serious. I went 10-3 in Big Ten games this year, but really, who saw Indiana beating Missouri? Ha screw you SEC. I also went 3-0 outside the Big Ten.

39-11 Big Ten
1-0 Exclusive Big Ten
7-5 Outside Big Ten

Some Week Four Observations
1. A couple more really good upsets or close calls this week. The aforementioned Indiana, Washington St and Clemson came Oh so close, and Mississippi St layed a beat down on LSU.
2. Oklahoma might be the most impressive team in September. But theyve been the most impressive September team several times before only to scuffle down the stretch.
3. Many don't, but I really do believe Oregon will lose at least one, maybe even two games this year. They are prone to bad stretches due to inexperience, and their defense remains suspect.
4. What I just said about Oregon, I believe the exact same about Alabama.
5. South Carolina continues to be really bad, save for one game against Georgia which has temporarily kept their season alive.
6. Is their any doubt offense is king? Wisconsin set a Big Ten rushing record, Alabama racked up over 600 yards of offense, and several top 25 teams put up 40 or more against good opposition.
7. East Carolina is a good team, and nobody is noticing. A week after beating Virginia Tech, they scored 70 against a previously ranked North Carolina team.
8. My final four remains the same: Bama, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Florida St

Big Ten Picks
South Florida @ Wisconsin: Pick: Wisconsin
Tulane @ Rutgers: Pick: Rutgers
Wyoming @ Michigan St: Pick: Michigan St
Cincinnati @ Ohio St: Pick: Ohio St
Iowa @ Purdue: Pick: Iowa
Northwestern @ Penn St: Pick: Penn St
Maryland @ Indiana: Pick: Maryland
Minnesota @ Michigan: Pick: Michigan
Illinois @ Nebraska: Pick: Nebraska

Outside the Big Ten
UCLA @ Arizona St: Pick: UCLA
Missouri @ South Carolina: Pick: South Carolina
Stanford @ Washington: Pick: Stanford

NCAA Week 4 Picks

I went 8-2 in Picking Big Ten games this week, 1-0 in exclusive Big Ten Games, and 1-2 outside the Big Ten.

29-8 in Big Ten Games
1-0 exclusive Big Ten Games
4-5 Outside Big Ten

Some observations from Week 3

1. I talked about how horrendous last week was for the Big Ten, and this week was pretty much another disaster. Iowa got upset by Iowa State, Indiana lost to Bowling Green, Minnesota got embarrassed by TCU, Illinois got embarrassed by Washington, and Maryland lost to West Virginia.
2. It was the first "upset Saturday" of the year, and considering we hardly got any last year, it was a welcome sight. Among the upsets that changed the landscape were South Carolina beating Georgia, Boston College knocking off USC, East Carolina beating Virginia Tech, and Virginia knocking off Louisville.
3. UCLA continues to be a dissapointment, barely knocking off a Texas team that just got throttles by BYU. Thats 3 close calls now against bad opponents for a team that was supposed to break out this year.
4. Georgia is not done yet, but they may not be able to afford any more losses, and with games against Auburn, Missouri and Florida on the docket yet, that could be very difficult to pull off.
5. My Top 4 after 3 weeks are 1. Oklahoma Vs 4 Alabama and 2 Oregon Vs 3 Florida St

A lot of teams teams had bye weeks or cupcake opponents this week so the observations this week are minimal. Onto next weeks Picks

Big Ten
Iowa @ Pittsburgh: Pick: Pittsburgh
East Michigan @ Michigan St: Pick: Michigan St
Bowling Green @ Wisconsin: Pick: Wisconsin
Western Illinois @ Northwestern: Pick: Northwestern
Southern Illinois @ Purdue: Pick: Purdue
Maryland @ Syracuse: Pick: Maryland
Utah @ Michigan: Pick: Michigan
Rutgers @ Navy: Pick: Rutgers
Umass @ Penn St: Pick: Penn St
San Jose St @ Minnesota: Pick: Minnesota
Texas St @ Illinois: Pick: Illinois
Indiana @ Missouri: Pick: Missouri
Miami @ Nebraska: Pick: Nebraska

Outside the Big Ten
Auburn @ Kansas St: Pick: Auburn
Clemson @ Florida St: Pick: Florida St
Florida @ Alabama: Pick: Alabama

NCAA Week 3 Picks

I went 9-4 in picking big ten games last week, 1-2 outside it.
21-6 in Big Ten Games
3-3 Outside Big Ten

Heres some observations after week two

1. A disastrous day for the Big Ten. Maybe one of the most disastrous ever. It was already bad before the night games when Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa, and Rutgers all had their struggles against cupcake opponents and Purdue lost by 3 touchdowns to a cupcake opponent. It became downright disastrous when in the night games Michigan St, Ohio St, and Michigan all lost.
2. South Carolina did nothing to reinstall confidence after lasts weeks bad game as they struggled mightily against East Carolina
3. Welcome USC back to national relevance as they grinded out a tough win against Stanford on the road. The win could move them near the top ten and into playoff discussion.
4. UCLA once again looked meager, though this week it was on the defensive side of the ball, giving up 35 points to Memphis. They are 2-0, but this popular playoff pick is starting to look overrated.
5. Is Ole Miss a possible SEC West contender or is Vanderbilt really that bad? I think Vanderbilt is really bad but that doesnt mean Ole Miss wont be in the picture, they are pretty good.
6. On the same note is Notre Dame that good or is Michigan that bad? I think the latter is fully true here, I am not anywhere near ready to put Notre Dame in the playoff discussion yet.
7. Kansas St looked rough against Iowa St. Baylor may be the only challenger to Oklahomas Big 12 supremacy.
8. If the college football season ended after two weeks my playoff picks would be 1. Georgia Vs 4. Oklahoma and 2. Florida St Vs 3. Oregon.

Now to the week 3 picks

West Virginia @ Maryland: Pick: Maryland
Indiana @ Bowling Green: Pick: Bowling Green
Kent St @ Ohio St: Pick: Ohio St
Miami (OH) @ Michigan: Pick: Michigan
Iowa St @ Iowa: Pick: Iowa
Minnesota @ TCU: Pick: TCU
Illinois @ Washington: Pick: Washington
Purdue @ Notre Dame: Pick: Notre Dame
Nebraska @ Fresno St: Pick: Nebraska
Penn St @ Rutgers: Pick: Penn St

Outside the Big Ten
Georgia @ South Carolina: Pick: Georgia
UCLA Vs Texas: Pick: UCLA
Louisville @ Virginia: Pick: Louisville

2014: Red Sox Ignominy

the year 2013 was a great one for the Red Sox. Every night was highly entertaining theater with different heroes emerging in every game. i wrote a lot last year about how fondly I will always remember last years team, just for being so much darn fun to watch on a nightly basis. 2014, has been the exact opposite. As of this writing, the Red Sox are 61-79, 22 games out of first place. The offense, which finished 1st in MLB in runs scored last year, is 24th this year. The pitching staff, which finished 14th in ERA last season, is 22nd this season. I thought itd be "fun" (call me a masochist) to take a look back at the specific games that made this season the disaster that it was. And there were plenty of game that perfectly showcased just how putrid this team really has been.

1. April 4th Vs Milwaukee Brewers: 6-2 loss. In the home opener, the game was tied 2-2 heading into the 9th innings. These were the types of games the Red Sox thrived on winning dramatically in last year. Right off the bat however, we saw this year would be different. Newly signed Edward Mujica came into the game and imploded, giving up 4 runs in the 9th inning. Mujica was expected to be a solid new addition, but pitched horrendously the first two months of the season, posting a 7.29 ERA through June 4th. Hes been better since, but those first two months were a disaster for him, and this game was the start of that.

2. April 12th @ Yankees: 7-4 loss. John Lackey, one of the Red Sox aces responsible for their amazing season last year, gives up 5(!) home runs in this game to the Yankees en route to a 7-4 loss.

3. April 24th Vs Yankees: 14-5 loss. 14 runs allowed to the Yankees. Enough said. This game was a disaster from start to finish.

4. May 9th @ Rangers. 8-0 loss. The first of several times this season where the Red Sox came so close to being no-hit.  Yu Darvish held Boston hitless until there was two outs in the 9th inning when David Ortiz hit a single for the only hit.

5. May 22nd Vs Blue Jays: 7-2 Loss. This game capped off an 0-6 homestand, the longest winless homestand for the Red Sox in nearly 30 years. The Red Sox never lost more than 3 in a row all last season, home or away.

6. May 25th @ Rays: L 8-5. The 10th straight loss for the Red Sox which practically put them in the grave before summer even started.

7. June 30th Vs Cubs: 2-0 Loss. It was Jake Arrietas turn to nearly no-hit the Red Sox, as his bid went into the 8th inning before Stephen Drew finally ended it.

8. July 2nd Vs Cubs: 16-9 loss. Allowing 16 runs and getting swept at home by one of the worst teams in the league should have been the final nail coffin in the season, but that was still to come because a win streak in Mid July kept a bit of hope.

9. July 24th @ Blue Jays: 8-0 Loss. This was the final nail in the coffin. Three straight losses in Toronto were capped off by this one. Losing that three in a row meant once and for all the Red Sox season was lost and they responded by trading away many players.

10. July 28th: Vs Blue Jays: 14-1 loss. Another mauling, and once again it was the Jays doing the job. This was the game that was the final nail in the coffin for Felix Doubront in Boston. Doubront was a high prospect expected to be a great pitcher for years to come, but while he showed flashes of brilliance in 3 seasons, he was wildly inconsistent. Finally, in July he was removed from his starters role and demoted to the bullpen. Doubront was vocal in his dissaproval of this, and in his first game out of the pen, this game, he allowed 6 runs without recording an out, many think on purpose as an act of defiance. On purpose or not, he was traded for practically nothing right after the game to the Cubs.

11. August 9th @ Angels: 5-4 loss. Just a 19 inning loss, nothing particularly excruciating when compared to the others.

12. August 21st Vs Angels: 2-0 loss. It was Chris Shoemaker this time who nearly no hit the Red Sox, Making it to the 8th inning before Will Middlebrooks picked up the only hit of the game for Boston.

13. August 22nd Vs Mariners: 5-3 loss. With a 3-0 lead heading into the 9th inning, it looked like the Sox would pick up a rare win. However Koji Uehara imploded in the 9th, giving up 5 runs, all with 2 outs and a win was not to be. It was the 6th straight loss for Boston.

14. August 30th @ Rays: 7-0 loss. The Red Sox get one hit. it is the 14th time this season the Red Sox record 3 hits or less as a team, a franchise record in the modern era. It happened only twice last season.


So there you have it, the 14 games out of 79 losses that stick out the most as showcasing this teams ineptitude. I am sure there will be more lowlights over these last 23 games before this season mercifully ends. 

Week One NFL Picks

Another NFL Season is upon us, lets get to the picking

Seahawks Over Packers
Saints over Falcons
Vikings Over Rams
Steelers Over Browns
Eagles Over Jaguars
Jets Over Raiders
Ravens Over Bengals
Bears Over Bills
Texans Over Redskins
Chiefs Over Dolphins
Patriots Over Dolphins
Bucs over Panthers
Cowboys over 49ers
Broncos over Colts
Giants Over Lions
Cardinals Over Chargers

My head says Saints over Seahawks in NFC Championship, Pats over Broncos in AFC Championship

And Saints over the Patriots in the Super Bowl. 

NCAA Week Two Picks

I went 12-2 in Big Ten Games and 2-1 outside it in week one. 10 week one observations

1. Texas A&M may be a legitimate SEC West contender.
2. Speaking of that, the SEC West race should be wild this year. There are 5 contenders with only Miss St and Arkansas not being in the mix. Expect no one to escape that meat grinder unscathed, especially if Alabams struggles against a weak WVU team are a true indicator of that team's ability.
3. Florida may be the biggest challenger to Georgia for the SEC East. That is based entirely on how bad South Carolina looked and not at all on how Florida looked since they didnt look like anything.
4. Trendy Pick UCLA looked downright horrendous offensively. I understand this is the first week in a sport without preseason so teams sometimes tend to look less than their best, and the fact UCLA was traveling cross country could also have played a factor, but still, the complete offensive ineptitude is concerning, especially since UCLA will have to put up plenty of points to have any chance of beating Oregon.
5. Three top 25 teams lost opening weekend, and one has, in my opinion, already bowed out of the National Championship race. That team would be Wisconsin, whose schedule is so weak that even running the table from this point forward would probably not be enough. Clemson still has a chance based on the fact Florida St is still on their schedule. South Carolina, by being in the SEC also still has a chance.
6. Speaking of Wisconsin, the last 25 minutes of that game for them was absolutely brutal. Melvin Gordon only getting three second half carries, especially given the situation, with the team being ahead  by multiple possessions and having a quarterback who couldnt throw anything, is inexcusable.
7. And speaking of Florida St, things may not be as easy for them as many thought. We have seen in the past some teams fold under the pressure of having the target on their back.  Only time will tel if FSU will be one of those teams.
8. The most impressive unranked teams this week were Oklahoma St and Tennessee. A couple of teams worth watching to see if they are actually good teams.
9. Ohio St is probably not a top 5 team without Braxton Miller. They really struggled against Navy, its going to be tough to compete against Michigan St plus a trip into Penn St this year also looms.
10. The Playoff is going to make this College Football more fun than ever. My Playoff prediction after week one is #2Georgia vs #3 Michigan St and #1 Florida St Vs #4 Oklahoma.

Now for the picks
Western Illinois @ Wisconsin: Pick: Wisconsin
Western Kentucky @ Illinois: Pick: Illinois
McNeese St @ Nebrasa: Pick: Nebraska
Akron @ Penn St: Pick: Penn St
Central Michigan @ Purdue: Pick: Purdue
Howard @ Rutgers: Pick: Rutgers
Northern Illinois @ Northwestern: Pick: Northwestern
Middle Tennessee @ Minnesota: Pick: Minnesota
Ball St @ Iowa: Pick: Iowa
Maryland @ South Florida: Pick: Maryland
Michigan St @ Oregon: Pick: Michigan St
Michigan @ Notre Dame: Pick: Notre Dame
Virginia Tech @ Ohio St: Pick: Ohio St

Outside the Big Ten
USC @ Stanford: Pick: Stanford
BYU @ Texas: Pick: Texas
Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt: Pick: Ole Miss