Week 6 NFL Picks

We're back with the Twitter Picks, 140 Characters or less. Last week +22 Units, this week will likely be a bloodbath. Without further ado....

Daily Fantasy Sports - The Offensive Lineman for Gambling

Make no mistake about it, Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) is popular and it's here to stay. Even with recent allegations of "insider trading" and an overall lack of regulation of the industry, this doesn't change the simple fact that America is yearning for something greater - the legalization of Sports Gambling.

Week 5 NFL Picks - In 140 Characters or Less

Sanjs Twitter picks:

let me tell you who you should take in the most generic 140 characters or less.

*****= 5 units

* = 1 unit 

I'm a professional so listen to everything I say... or don't and save yourself from an awful Monday morning. It's my birthday this weekend, so what could possibly go wrong?

Back for More... The Columbia University Edition

More than anything I've always wanted to use this space to project my thoughts and ideas into the ever adapting and changing industry that is Sports. Recently I was lucky enough to get accepted to Columbia University's M.Sc in Sports Management. Seems like a program that was molded specifically for me... and so far it has been. The one quibble is that I've enrolled at another university for no major athletics program, although I've been told to watch out for the Lions Basketball program - more on that to follow later in the year (potentially). I've been enamored meeting everyone in my program so far and hearing about the many unique backgrounds that have led this current class to where they are currently. However, while we all have a shared passion for sports, it's apparent to me I think one thing sets me aside from everyone else (save one other nutjob) in the program is my passion to fantasy sports and the gambling aspect of sports.

BPL Week 3

Saturday August 31, 2013
7:45am NBCSN

Manchester City 4 Hull City 0
Last week is what makes the premier league top to bottom the most exciting and competitive league in the world.  While the quality of the teams at the very top of their respective leagues may seem stronger across Europe, you won't get results like you did in Cardiff last week as they pulled off the shock upset of Manchester City.  You might not see games like that all the time, but the competitiveness of the games between the top teams and the rest of the field is higher in this league than any other.  Credit to parody aside, Manchester City will most certainly make amends this week against a Hull City squad that earned a hard fought first win last week.  Being drawn with trophy rich Bayern Munich for the Champions league group stage in the near future should provide City extra motivation to quickly redirect their ship, comfortable win.

10am NBC Premier League Extra Time
Newcastle 1 Fulham 1
With their sought after central midfielder's price deemed too high for prospective suitors Newcastle will welcome Yohan Cabaye back into the team this week in hopes of kickstarting a sluggish beginning to the season.  Newcastle must look at this as another vital opportunity to earn three points against a team they will feel that they are better than.  A loss last week will have seen Fulham lose some of the good feeling after their opening road win but a point in this fixture and they would be happy.

10am NBC Premier League Extra Time
West Ham United 2 Stoke City 1
An excellent start to the season for West Ham United has seen a revitalized Joe Cole lead an exciting brand of attacking soccer and good feeling back around the London side.  Stoke got their first three points of the season last week but I see them falling short on the road to the Hammers

10am NBC Premier League Extra Time
Norwich City 2 Southampton 0
Dropped points for Norwich in this fixture means an early start to their battle for relegation.  Anybody who has seen them play at home can notice how the Canaries home fans are able to lift the energy of the squad to a level that they wouldn't normally reach.  They do not always convert this energy into goals but I believe they do tomorrow against a Southampton squad who have been exposed defensively at time this year.  Although Southampton have been able to weather some lackluster defensive performances and grind out some decent results I see the Canaries grinding out a tough first win of the season.

10am NBCSN
Cardiff City 1 Everton 1
The only better feeling the Cardiff fans have experienced than last week's victory against the free-spending giants of Manchester city was gaining promotion into the premier league.  As huge and exciting a win as you'll see, they earned the same three points they would have gotten had they beat any other side.  So they must stay the course and focus on building on that victory, because staying up is their main focus this year and early season form can go a long way in dictating whether that is a real possibility.  Everton's start to the season has been relatively ambivalent, although they are notorious slow starters and won't be too stressed having yet to taste defeat.  Cardiff builds on last week and gets a home point.

10am NBC Premier League Extra Time
Crystal Palace 2 Sunderland 3
Take my goalfest predictions with a grain of salt as I haven't been close to correct both times I've surmised it might happen.  So consider this a shot in the dark, I don't actually know if these two teams can put together a game like this so more than likely my prediction will turn out wrong again.  Sunderland's late flurry in the Capital One Cup midweek will have them arguing otherwise as a Jozy Altidore goal saw them come from behind late and then pour it on in a very odd ending to a game.  Two games two losses for Crystal Palace leaves them second from bottom already and Sunderland will look to pour on the misery for the newcomers, Sunderland in a goalfest! (or not).

Sunday September 1st, 2013
830am NBCSN
Liverpool 1 Manchester United 1
A fantastic set of Sunday games kicks off with another mammoth matchup.  Although Liverpool haven't been near where they've needed to be the last few years this game rightly generates a large amount of buzz do to the storied history of the two clubs.  Manchester United has just recently overtaken Liverpool's record of premier league titles which has admittedly come during the biggest drought of the latter clubs existence.  A good solid start from Liverpool this season has been nice to see as the league is always in much better shape when they are fighting for one of the top spots.  Although Luis Suarez (I had to mention him) is not yet cleared to make his return, knowing that he will be a squad member for the foreseeable future brings some much welcomed stability to a volatile situation.  Manchester United also has some positive news on the transfer front as it looks like Wayne Rooney will be staying after his well-received man of the match performance in a 0-0 draw with Chelsea last week.  I have a strong feeling that this game will be much more engaging then last weeks giant fixture, but I still see a draw.

830am NBC Premier League Extra Time
West Brom 2 Swansea 1
With both teams struggling to start the season they will both see this game as an opportunity to get three rather than just a point.  Swansea have admittedly had a beginning to the season that no one would have asked for fixture wise but you have to play who they put in front of you and they have been soundly beaten on both occasions.  West Brom wins this one.

11am NBCSN
Arsenal 2 Tottenham 2
Never a dull game between these two teams as arguably the fiercest rivalry in the league kicks off for yet another episode early in the season.  Far be it from me to correctly predict these types of games as they usually involve huge momentum swings, goals, and cards.  Arsenal have rebounded from their opening week loss to qualify for Champions League and get back into a good offensive flow.  However the news that Lukas Podolski will be out for a while furthers the need for Arsene Wenger to sign somebody, as the gunners are in desperate need for healthy bodies to provide insurance to a linguine thin squad.  Meanwhile their London neighbors have been spending more than they have in the clubs history in an attempt to replace Gareth Bale.  That should further the animosity between the two teams along with the fact that Spurs feel like they have been the better club over the last few years. Definitely a must watch for pure entertainment value, don't be surprised if you see some fireworks in this one. Let's go.


Last week (6-5)
Season (13-8)

BPL Week 2

Wednesday August 21, 2013

Live on NBCSP 3pm et

Chelsea 3 Aston Villa 0

Coming off the shock result of the weekend over Arsenal, Christian Benteke and Aston Villa will be looking to fully erase the memory of the 8-0 drubbing they took at Stamford Bridge last year.  Although, claiming another scalp of a top team might be difficult given Chelsea's revitalized attitude which was on full display as two early goals allowed them to cruise in their opener against an outclassed Hull City.  Aston Villa may look to adapt to a different style of play than in their match against Arsenal as Chelsea present a more ruthless style of attacking play in the final third.  Another comfortable win for the Blues will allow them to supplement the good feeling generated by their fantastic opening day performance and newly returned manager.  

BPL Week 1 Preview

I've long wanted to have this site turn into a mini-Grantland with just a bunch of buddies that tend to know more about sports / pop culture than the average Joe. Well this week with the start of the Barclays Premier League (BPL) a part of that dream came true. I was lucky enough to have a good friend, Asante Brooks agree to give his take on what the expect for the BPL games week to week. Hopefully for as much of the season as possible. Without further ado here's week 1.

NCAA BCS Championship Game

Notre Dame vs. Alabama (-10.5), Monday January 7th, 8:30 ET
I've seen a direct correlation in my gambling profits (or losses) this year from last year. When I used to spend the time every weekend capping NFL, college football or college basketball games I saw something that I haven't seen very much of this year: Wins.  There's simply something to be said to doing research, putting your thoughts down on a white piece of digital paper and publishing your predictions. While I've had fun doing the predictions, they became too time consuming, and quickly became an after thought. Well - there's one reason I've decided to write about the National Championship game and that reason is $$. The more that I invest myself into the story lines leading up to the game, the more knowledgeable I feel about the outcome. At least that's what I'll continue to tell myself. So without further ado, here's some analysis on how the BCS Championship game could go...

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.