NFL Picks - Week 2

Not a bad start (8-8) for week one, all things considered. As we said, the first week is always a total crapshoot, so coming out right at 50% isn’t worthy of complaint.

Week 2 features another mixed bag, though some of the lines have jumped pretty high. Resisting the temptation to jump to early conclusions on the basis of one game, we move forward with the following selections:

Houston +6.5 over CAROLINA
Have you ever noticed that every year a team or teams starts out 2-0, and suddenly everyone sits up and says “Whoa, these guys are 2-0?”. Not sure if the Texans can do that, but they should be competitive enough to cover this number.
Carolina 20 Houston 17

Cincinnati -6.5 over CLEVELAND
Remember what we said two paragraphs ago about not jumping to conclusions after one game? This is the exception. The Browns are awful, and the explosive Bengals should take this one going away.
Cincinnati 31 Cleveland 10

JACKSONVILLE -10.5 over Atlanta
Jags smarting after losing to Titans, and Falcs defense won’t be able to slow down Maurice Jones-Drew.
Jacksonville 27 Atlanta 10

NY GIANTS +3.5 over Green Bay
A lot depends on the status of Eli Manning, who looked very comfortable in Big D last week. G-Men defense can’t be much worse, and an extra full week of practice for Michael Strahan should help.
NY Giants 24 Green Bay 14

Buffalo +9.5 over PITTSBURGH
Heavy hearted Bills go into the blast furnace in Steeltown. Still not sold on Pitt just yet, and playing-with-a-purpose Bills should keep this one tight.
Pittsburgh 20 Buffalo 14

San Francisco +3.5 over ST. LOUIS
Niners, who really should stick with those Walsh-era unis [link], were lucky to escape over inept Cards last week. Rams loss of Orlando Pace is a huge blow, and the feeling here is the Niners can win this one outright, in an ugly one.
San Francisco 24 St. Louis 20

New Orleans -3.5 over TAMPA BAY
Vegas obviously knows something we don’t. Saints have had 10 days to stew over blowout loss at Indy, and though this could be a back-to-the-pack year, can’t see them stumbling here.
New Orleans 27 Tampa Bay 10

Indianapolis -7.5 TENNESSEE
Warning signs abound here. Titans always give Indy fits, Colts due for a letdown. Can’t underestimate the value of the extra off days for Indy, even this early. We can see this one being tight but opening up late.
Indianapolis 30 Tennessee 17

ARIZONA +2.5 Seattle
Another wacky line, at least at first glance. Redbirds are always a trendy early season pick, while Hawks are seemingly flying under the radar a bit. Against our better judgement, we’ll go with (gulp) ‘zona…
Arizona 21 Seattle 20

Minnesota +3.5 over DETROIT
This one is actually an interesting matchup. Vikes offense essentially sputtered in Week 1 win, while Lions put up 36 against a decent Raider D. Can the Lions join the ranks of surprising 2-0 teams? Why not?
Detroit 27 Minnesota 24

Dallas -3.5 over MIAMI
Cowboy D has holes, which were exploited last week, but can’t see Dolphins doing the same. Look for Pokes to tighten things up and take care of business in sticky Miami.
Dallas 23 Miami 10

NY Jets +7.5 over BALTIMORE
Just cannot see Ravens being 8 points better than anyone right now. Steve McNair has not looked good for awhile now, and the stellar Baltimore defense should give Jets problems no matter who is behind center. Low scoring games usually mean close games, so we’ll take the Jets.
Baltimore 13 NY Jets 10

Kansas City +12.5 over CHICAGO
Our beloved Chiefs are an apparent mess right now. The O-Line has yet to come together and the receiver corps lost another starter, not to mention they had to cut the rookie kicker. However, Larry Johnson should be more involved this week, and even though Bears shut down LT last week, LJ might be able to pop one or two. Bears offense is a mess with issues at QB (the erratic Rex Grossman) and RB (enigmatic Cedric Benson), so it’s not unlikely each defense could outscore the offenses here.
Chicago 20 Kansas City 10

DENVER -9.5 over Oakland
Doesn’t matter who starts at QB for Oakland, we will not pick against Denver in a home opener. Broncs fortunate to escape Buffalo with a W last week, but will have no need for such theatrics this week.
Denver 31 Oakland 13

San Diego +3.5 over NEW ENGLAND
Pats lose edge with video clampdown (perhaps you’ve heard about that little flare-up?). Too bad that this match-up is being somewhat overshadowed by the video controversy, as it should be the best game of the week. Pats could adopt bunker mentality and ride that all season, but Chargers (despite Norv Turner, who we feel will doom this team at some point this season) have too much firepower on both sides of the ball to not hang tough, while NBC thanks their lucky stars this one dropped in their lap.
New England 30 San Diego 28

PHILADELPHIA -6.5 over Washington
Classic bounceback game for Iggles, who were embarrassed in Green Bay last week. Skins can keep it close, but the play here says Philly will pull away in the second half in front of the rowdy home crowd.
Philadelphia 24 Washginton 14


Last week: 8-8
Season total: 8-8 (50.0%)

NFL - Week 1 Picks

The picks have returned, with one slight change: this year, point spreads are in play. The lines are taken from the ESPN Pigskin Pick'em, as I have joined the Bill Simmons group. Whee!

Since Week One is a total crapshoot anyway, I have forgone the capsule summaries for each game. Oh, and I'm already 0-1 thanks to the miserable performance by the Saints on Thursday. Thanks guys.

The Week One selections (home team in CAPS):

THURSDAY
New Orleans (+6/2) over INDIANAPOLIS

SUNDAY
BUFFALO (+3 1/2) over Denver
Pittsburgh (-3/12) over CLEVELAND
Philadelphia (-2 1/2) over GREEN BAY
Kansas City (+1 1/2) over HOUSTON
Tennessee (+5/12) over JACKSONVILLE
Atlanta (+2 1/2) over MINNESOTA
New England (-5 1/2) over N.Y. JETS
ST. LOUIS (-1 1/2) over Carolina
WASHINGTON (-3 1/2) over Miami
OAKLAND (-2 1/2) over Detroit
Chicago (+5 1/2) over SAN DIEGO
SEATTLE (-6 1/2) over Tampa Bay
DALLAS (-3 1/2) over N.Y. Giants

MONDAY
CINCINNATI (-3 1/2) over Baltimore
Arizona (+3 1/2) over SAN FRANCISCO

Back On Track?

Has the Good Ship Steinbrenner finally righted itself? A recent winning streak, which has propelled the team back above the .500 mark, seems to indicate just that.

Obviously, the $200 million squad couldn't be so pathetic forever. Six games against the fading White Sox and awful Pirates also went a long way toward curing the woes. The pitching staff began to get its collective act together about a month ago....right when the hitting went suddenly tits up. Now, led by Bobby Abreu of all people, the bats have awoken. ARod has snapped out of his mini-drought, while Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada have pretty much mashed all sesaon.
Still, to us, some issues remain.

The Bullpen comes immediately to mind. This is a less than stellar bunch to begin with. Throw in the fact that they were way overworked in the first two months and you've got a recipe for a late season meltdown. Having Roger Clemens in the fold equals no rest for the weary, as they will be needed to bail out the aging, fatigued groin hurler. Not much help will be available in the trade market, as everyone will be looking for available arms around the July 31 deadline - most with much more to offer up than the Yankees can.

Seriously, Kyle Farnsworth is always a threat to load the bases, and reminds of a real life Nuke LaLoosh. Scott Proctor is good, but pitches seemingly every day, so how long can his arm hold up? Mike Myers and Ron Villone scare no one. After that it's pretty much a crapshoot getting to Mariano Rivera, who has looked somewhat mortal himself thus far, though that could be attributed to a lack of work - he went almost a month between save opportunites.

No doubt this team will be in the mix come September, most likely contending for the Wild Card. The Red Sox have slowed down a bit, but still have a 9 1/2 game cushion over New York in the Eastern division. Chasing the Wild Card brings with it more issues, as they will be in amongst a group of 4-5 teams, making it difficult to gain ground.

It says here that while certainly a possibility, the 2007 Yankees will ultimately fall short and miss the post season for the first time since 1993. At least, that's what we're hoping for.

Vilma: Lay Off Vick

New York Jet linebacker Jonathan Vilma, during an interview with WFAN afternoon host Chris Russo on Wednesday, was asked to comment on the eventful offseason, specifcally regarding the misbehavior of stars like Pacman Jones, Chris Henry and Michael Vick. Somewhat casually, Vilma seemed to dismiss the Vick controversey, at one point uncorking this gem:

..of course dog fighting is much more extreme, but you can equate it to horse
racing.

Really, Jon? That's a pretty bold statement there. You sticking by it?

We can see how he might equate the two. After all, it's a well known fact that Affirmed and Alydar fought each other to the death in 1978 after the Belmont Stakes. Also, do you think Ruffian's leg was broken during that run off race with Spectacular Bid? In fact, they had a pre-race brawl where The Bidmaster leaped from the top rail of the stable and crushed the fragile bone of the filly.

It's become comical to hear people attempt to defend dog fighting. "It's cultural", they've said, "you wouldn't understand". Maybe, but cultural tradition or not, it is, like, say, cockfighting, still against the law. And? It's wrong.

WFAN

The Worst Possible Outcome

This is how you know the Cavs are doomed: the game is in the hands of The Man, and everyone in the house knows he is going to spot up and shoot a three. The Spurs know they have to foul him before he can get the shot off. This can go several different ways - 1.) James is fouled before shooting, putting him on the line for two and forcing an attempted miss and rebound on the second shot, 2.) He's fouled during the act and has to hit three free throws, or 3.) he hits the shot and sends the game to OT.

Or, if you're Cleveland, you get option 4 - he gets fouled while shooting, it doesn't get called, the shot doesn't fall, and the series is, for all intents and purposes, over.

Winning Game 3 was imperative for the Cavs, which would have created the need to take 3 out of the next 4 - unlikely, but not impossible. Obviously, there is no way anyone is winning 4 straight against the Spurs. I know that's a bold statement, but I'll stand by it.

The kicker is that LeBron really did have a great game - he was creating numerous open shots for his teammates, but unlike Game 6 against Detroit, they weren't falling. Once he took over and starting going hard to the hoop, he put his team in position to grab the game at the end.

Predicted scoring line for King James for Game 4: 30-58 FG, 20-27 FT, 85 pts, 0 assists. Cavs lose 87-86.

(photo: Getty images)

NBA Finals Preview

Just in time for summer, the NBA will wrap up its season beginning tonight as we begin....wait for it....The Finals. With any luck, the series will wrap up in time for the Fourth of July holiday, and then training camps can open up two weeks later. I Love This Game!

The prevailing wisdom seems to indicate the Spurs will officially reach Elite Team status by taking this series, thereby capturing their fourth title in eight years, which qualifies as a dynasty in today's NBA. However, the league mandates that the games be played, so let's take a look at how this will shake out.

LeBron James has arrived, and led the Cavs to the promised land. The fact that this team has made it to here is in many ways a victory in itself for the city, and the franchise. To say the city of Cleveland is starved for a title (none since 1964) is like saying Nicole Ritchie needs a sandwich. The stunning elimination of the Pistons made for some of the most compelling hoop of this year's playoffs, as King James proved that he was 1.) unstoppable and 2.) willing to let his teammates shoulder the load when he was double and triple teamed.

San Antonio has been strictly business as usual thus far, though the suspensions in the Phoenix series led us to wonder how things would have played out had Robert Horry not decided to hip check Steve Nash. Regardless, the Spurs are poised, polished, and playoff tested. Coach Gregg Popovich has had plenty of time to watch and prepare a plan to defense the Cavs, and it is highly unlikely the King can defeat Tim Duncan and Co. all by himself.

We want to believe that Cleveland can stay with the Spurs and make this a great series, but the coaching ability gap between the two coaches is wide enough to drive a semi through. James will undoubtedly be the best player on the floor, and when the floor also contains Tim Duncan that's saying something, but we feel the Spurs will be able to adequately defend the other four guys on the court, and score enough to take the series, though it would not be unusual to see many of the games be decided by less than 10 points.

The pick? Spurs in 5.

Goodell Takes Aim At History

I guess there is no doubt that the NFL has a new sheriff. Fresh off his suspensions of Pacman Jones and Chris Henry, new commissioner Roger Goodell set his radar on Tank Johnson, and banged out an 8 game suspension. What will he do with Michael Vick regarding the dog fighting? An anxious world awaits.

Claiming he wanted to "strike while the iron was hot", Goodell today suspended O.J. Simpson, retroactively, for the 1973 season. "Being able to remove this blemish from our great game was something that had to be done, even if my predessors didn't have the stones to carry it out." he said. Effective immediately, Simpson's then record setting 2,003 rushing yards will be stricken from the record books, and his bust tossed onto the lawn in Canton, where passers by will be encouraged to "do whatever is needed" to vent their frustrations.

Simpson could not be reached for comment, as he continues his search for the real killers.