2012 NFL Week 9 Predictions

I'm sitting at home on a Saturday night watching college football for the first time all season. Have I been missing out or is this just a special weekend with LSU/Alabama, USC/Oregon, and that PITT/ND gem? Either way - I feel all types of ready to make picks for the NFL season after watching the minor leagues all day today...

2012 NFL Week 8 Predictions

Week 8 Picks...the calm before the storm.

2012 Week 7 NFL Predictions

Great start with that Thursday Night Dud - now bringing my TNF record to 1-6 for the year. Also the Under in these games is 6-1. Makes sense since NO ONE in their right mind wants to play a game 3 days after a Sunday game. I still love the idea of football on Thursday Nights - but I'll be damned if these games haven't blown chunks. Speaking of blowing chunks - here are the picks for the week: 

2012 NFL Week 6 Predictions

The NFL these past two weekends has been immensely more fun to watch - plus now with the real refs back I feel like things are coming back to normalcy. Thru 5 Weeks I've learned that the Falcons Passing Game is terrific. The Panthers passing game is the opposite. There's also no clear cut upper echelon of great teams this year as we've had in years past. Sure the Texans and Falcons boast 5-0 records - but would anyone be terribly surprised if they didn't end up with No. 1 seed in their respective conferences? The Texans look like a well balanced team but with a season ending injury to their All Pro LB Brian Cushing and the fact that they haven't really played anyone 'good' I wouldn't be so quick to pencil them in for top spot in the AFC. But arguably the most important thing I've learned is week to week nothing in the NFL matters - gotta look at each matchup and throw everything from weeks prior out the proverbial window. Here's how things should play out for week 6.

2012 NFL Week 5 Predictions

Holy schnikes, 4-11??? Yup - after re-reading my post last week, I'm not sure why anyone would have said you know what?! This guy has a grasp on what's going on - let's get on board. Just utterly horrendous last week on the picks - but I vow to come back strong this week seeing as we're one week removed from the worst week in NFL history. I'm still staying true to my detachment process and only making picks - am I less informed? Yep. Do I still enjoy the games as much? Sure do. Here's how the games should play out this week.

2012 NFL Week 4 - There is a greater being

I went through an emotional roller coaster this week. Never in my life did I think I could feel the way I felt about the NFL on Monday Night around 12:24 am. I reacted emotionally and did things like vow to not watch the games until they fixed their problems. I went so far as to leave a voicemail for Roger Goodell. I was morally deflated that my football had gotten to the level that it did after "Water-Tate". Now that the refs are back am I happy? Sure. No longer will inadequate refs be responsible for split second decisions that have the ability to determine outcomes on the game that I've come to love so much. But something about me changed this week. I realized that I'm way too attached to these games. It's borderline unhealthy. So this week - things will change. I'll start my process of detachment by only making picks. No writing, no researching, no knowing every little tidbit about the games or the story lines. At the end of the day - its entertainment and so I should treat it as such - not a job or a class. Plus it will allow me to spend more time on things like pranna brunch and cock pushups. Without further ado the picks for this week...

2012 NFL Week 3 Predictions

Through 2 weeks of the season - we know even less than what we know when the season started, except for the fact that these replacement refs need to be replaced as soon as possible. The Patriots and Ravens square off this week to avoid going 1-2, the Packers will be in a dogfight against the Seahawks to avoid going 1-2, the Giants are battered on offense and will need to beat the Panthers to avoid going 1-2, and I'll need to beat Shalin in fantasy football to avoid going 1-2. Football as we know it, simply doesn't make sense. 

NFL 2012 Week 2 Predictions (Centennial Edition)

I think I've finally recovered from the consumption of all that football this past weekend. Always has been and always be one of my favorite weekends of the year, also doesn't hurt to go 11-5 to kick things off. But now that it's over that means we're simply one week smarter headed into week 2 where in the 100th post on the site we will undoubtedly go 16 for 16 this week.

2012 NFL Week 1 Predictions

Can you smell that??? FOooooOOOTballl is BACK!!!! Honestly not sure how anyone accomplishes anything this week - IF I were running a presidential campaign, my first order of business would be to give everyone a week off from work, school, and any other secondary activities. How's that for government policy? As we did last year, I'll make predictions every week for each game against the spread and at the end of the year hope to have more W's than L's. All lines are courtesy of 5dimes. Without further ado, the week 1 Picks...

2012 NBA Playoffs

2012 NBA Championship
Miami Heat vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (-160)
I know, I know - it's been about 2 months since my last post. Apparently this grad school thing turned out to be kind of time consuming. Still no excuse to not write about sports. As most of you know the NBA Finals starts on Tuesday with Lebron James and the Miami Heat going toe-to-toe with Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. A dream final for the NBA and its fans. 

MLB 2012 Opening Day

The first day of summer starts today. I know that the official date for the Northern Hemisphere usually occurs around June 20th or 21st - but with the first pitch of the MLB season taking place tonight - so to does the idea of summer: tailgating, beer, hot dogs, baseball, and cracker jacks. Note: I don't count the two games that took place in Japan between the Mariners and Athletics, mostly because I had no idea they even occurred until after I saw Felix Hernandez's statistics on my fantasy team actually counted. Anyways, with the new season comes a new found hope for every team in baseball. Realistically we know that the Yankees, Phillies, Red Sox, and Rangers will be contenders... we also know that the Pirates will not finish above .500. Let's kick off the season with some more predictions that may or may not even come close - that's the thing about baseball - as long as you don't suck, you can win on any given night.

Road to the Final Four: How Sweet It Is..

You didn't think that I would let the entire madness of March go by without writing a blog on college basketball, did you? The truth is - I've been watching college basketball with one eye half opened the past couple of months rooting desperately for my alma mater, Drexel to not only make the tournament but to make some noise a la VCU or George Mason in years past. It's simply not in my blood to brag - I like to stay humble when things are going well, so writing about them would have felt downright uncomfortable. I also didn't want to ruin the built up momentum...you just don't mess with a good thing. It's like talking about a perfect game in baseball, or mentioning that there's no way your team could lose when they're up by 4 points with the ball and only 13 seconds left...you just don't do it. Or at least I don't. 

Random Thoughts: Searching for the next Jeremy Lin...

If you've read this blog before - you'll know that I like to make many wild predictions (on sporting events/stories). Part of the fun in writing what you think may or may not happen is that there really are no repercussions - unless of course you're gambling... but since that's not legal, we'll just stick with the premise that all of this is for fun...

Road to the Final Four (Week After the Superbowl)

What better way to shake-off the hangover of the NFL Season with an absolutely loaded Wednesday Night in college hoops? Honestly, I can't think of one. These three gems should definitely get us back into the swing of the college hoops season - especially with my beloved Dragons of Drexel (19-5, 11 wins in a row and 17 of the last 18) playing as well as they have been...Year of the Dragon, right!?

SUPERBOWL Forty Six (Patriots / Giants)

This season has been memorable on so many levels for me. Some teams provided us laughter (see Philadelphia Eagles), some teams unexpectedly turned their organizations around for the future (see 49ers and Lions), some teams flirted with perfection (Packers), and Drew Brees broke one of Football's most historic records, passing yards in a season, on the same day that he delivered me a Fantasy Football Championship. But most of all I'll remember the 2011-2012 season as my first as a blogger - so there's that. Now on to my final analysis of the season as well as a wild prediction (well its actually pretty consistent with what I've been doing)...

Australian Open - Mens Final

Novak Djokovic (-155) vs. Rafael Nadal - Sunday, 3AM ET - ESPN2
I'll keep this one short and sweet. Novak Djokovic does not have a single ounce of quit in his body. That should be very evident after the classic 5 sets with Andy Murray. He also absolutely dominated Nadal last year going 6 for 6 in championship matches against the Spaniard. Rafa looks so helpless against this guy. I'll roll with Djokovic in 4 sets. Basically I just need something to root for in order to keep me up - may or may not have a gambling problem. 

Things You May or May Not Be Thinking... (1/22)

"Is there anything you would've Cundiff-erently with your gameplan?" -what every reporter should ask harbaugh

Australian Open - Semifinals (Mens/Womens)

With the new year comes the first major of tennis - the Australian Open. A lot of times the tournament 'down under' gets lost in the States because of the start of the NFL Playoffs and other regular season sports such as the NBA and NHL. With the NFL off for two weeks prior to the Super Bowls and the NHL resting for the All Star break coming up this weekend, what better time to turn our heads to the worlds top tennis players in Australia... the only issue is staying up late enough to catch the outcome. In a blockbuster weekend for Tennis - here's who I'll be rooting for...

NFL Conference Championship Weekend

Through 20 weeks of football we are now down to four teams left in the tournament. I'd argue that we didn't get the 4 best teams in the league this year (sorry Saints/Packers) but that's the fun of tournaments. You learn to expect the unexpected. I'll be writing an open letter to the president of the NCAA to make a push for a College Football Tournament - I'm pretty sure my constituency of 7 readers should sway the vote. Anyways - the silver lining of this season has to be the fact that there is NO possible way for me to finish under .500 for the season due to my 3-1 performance last week. As a prognosticator with no inside sources - this is the best feeling one could possibly ask for. Not much room to go up from here - so if you're reading it's probably a good time to stop. For those that enjoy my weekly banter - here are my speculations and analysis for the games this weekend...

NFL Divisional Round

Really no introduction needed here - it's the 2nd round of the NFL playoffs - week 20 of the NFL season. Time for teams to put up or shut up. I feel a 4-0 week coming on - that's me putting up a ridiculous claim. Come Sunday Night I'll probably be wondering what the heck just happened - so long as we don't all get Tebow'd again I'm good...

Things You May or May Not Be Thinking... (1/12)

Can we agree that Notre Dame is not a powerhouse football program anymore? Let's agree.

Fab Five - Bowl Predictions (NCAAF)

All season long I've consumed College Football with the hope that come Bowl season I would have a much better idea of the landscape of what's been going. Truth be told - I feel like I know a lot more about the sport than I have in past years when watching some of these bowl games. But it probably won't help me when making my picks. In traditional fashion, I've highlighted the five best (bowl) games of the season and give picks which may or may not be right...

NFL Wild Card Weekend

After a sub-par end to the NFL Regular season (5-10-1) to finish the year at 124-122-10 we now get a clean slate as we head into the Playoffs for the NFL Wild Card Weekend. Basically this weekend confuses the heck out of me - and its one I've struggled with in the past. Wild Card Weekend features the teams that have either turned it on late to make a push to get in (Giants, Bengals), teams that you just have no idea which team will show up (Broncos, Texans, Lions), and teams that have been solid all season long - but still have question marks with either injuries or lack of experience (Steelers, Falcons). I left the Saints out of this little blurb because they are the only clear cut team that will make it out of the weekend and still have a legitimate shot to contend for the Super Bowl. If there's one thing I know about Wild Card weekend - things tend to get pretty Wild...

Things You May or May Not Be Thinking... (1/6)

With his new Christian Best-Selling book, Tim Tebow has been given the responsibility of passing along his religious beliefs through his sports medium. I wonder if those rooting for him will cross the geographical boundary and enter a religious one.... What does the average Christian Ponder?

Things You May or May Not Be Thinking...(1/4)

In case you guys aren't following him, my brother is funny. There's no way around it. Do yourselves a favor and follow him on twitter @indtruth4. I've been able to coerce Sanj into giving some food-for-thought ideas relating to the Sports World for the Blog - without further ado...


If Ike Reese doesn't call his kids Reese's Pieces then why are we even living anymore?

p.s. can't confirm if this is Ike Reese or Charlie Murphy

Road to the Final Four (Week 9)

Back with some College Basketball games this week - mostly because there's really nothing else to write about as the College Football season comes to a close and the NFL gears up for the Playoffs. So far this college basketball season has been a carousel of teams changing at the top with Syracuse finally settling in first place for the past four weeks. Something tells me that they won't be able to maintain the top spot once their conference schedule picks up. As usual - I'll highlight some of the premiere match ups in college hoops this week - then make a prediction and watch my bankroll increase or decrease...

NHL Winter Classic (Rangers / Flyers)

I have an admission to make. I don't really watch regular season hockey very much. Ever since the 2004 NHL Lockout I've virtually lost all interest as a fan in the sport. I'm one of those "watch the playoffs only" type of people. I've tried to change my attitude - but I just haven't been able to get back into it. After that lockout so much about the game changed - the rules, the players, the teams. I also never played hockey as a kid - so I probably didn't have the same unconditional attraction to sports like baseball, tennis, basketball, football, and cross country skiing. With all of that being said - there is a big regular season game happening in what's been dubbed the "Winter Classic."  As with any big sporting event - I'll try to share some knowledge, make a pick, and watch the outcome. Check for the analysis after the jump...