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 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...

NFL Week 17 Predictions

The last week of the NFL season is here. There shouldn't be any fantasy implications so its purely about whether or not your team is in or out of the playoff race - or if you're in a season long pick 'em league like myself. Either way - it should be a fun last week of the season culminating in the showdown that all football fans will be watching, Giants / Cowboys in New York. Let's get to the picks after the jump...

NFL Week 16 Recap

Now that's what I call football. A Saturday on the eve of Christmas watching game after game with playoff implications and wild plays - including this gem from Jerome Simpson. Arguably the play of the year to this point in the season. After the Giants finished dismantling the Jets and made Rex Ryan eat his own words - the rest of the weekend became about the Saints' Drew Brees - both for historical passing record purposes and for Fantasy Football purposes. He came through in both regards. Check for more insight and thoughts after the jump...

NFL Week 16 (Continued)

Off to another 1-0 start after the Colts comeback victory over the Texans. This week really does feel like the 16-0 week that I've been promising. Haven't seen an easier slate of games all season - it's also my buddy Asante's birthday - so I feel like I might need to live blog the entire Christmas Eve day. Stay tuned for that - but here are the picks for the remainder of week 16...

NFL Week 15 Recap

Just when things started to look like they might all make sense - everything was flipped upside down in week 15 of the NFL. The Packers, Texans, Ravens, Jets, Steelers, Giants, Broncos were all teams heading into this weekend that were in a position to make the playoffs. All of those teams lost. Also - the Colts won! So not only did we end the 16-0 dream for the Packers, we avoided an 0-16 misery for the Colts. But I have to be honest - the only thing I cared about this weekend from a sports standpoint was my fantasy match ups. Click after the jump for more of a recap of week 15 and to see if I advanced in my quest for fantasy supremacy...

NFL Week 15 (Continued)

Finally got off to a 1-0 start as the Falcons crushed the Jaguars. Now let's finish up with 15 wins in the NFL and 2 wins in Fantasy. Right, back to reality after the jump...

NFL Week 15 (Thursday Game Only)

These Thursday games are starting to get under my skin - mostly because I never get them right but also because they're usually not interesting match ups (except for Tebow/Jets). Honestly - nothing else matters to me in the NFL this weekend since it's Fantasy Football Playoff time. Full Disclosure: Here are players that I will be rooting for in my two leagues: Brees, Calvin, Lesean, Pettigrew, McGahee, Antonio Brown, Eli, Dez, Miles Austin, Michael Bush, Witten, and Manningham. Here are players that I will be rooting against: Matt Ryan, MJD, Colston, Desean, Steve Smith, Ben Tate, and All of the Patriots (Brady, Welker, and GRONK). I'm screwed, I know. But its good to keep this in mind for when I predict things like a Broncos 2-0 victory over the Patriots. Now for the Thursday Night Pick...

NFL Week 14 Recap

Arguably the best game of the season occurred at the tail end of week 14. I didn't pay any attention to the MNF game - so the Cowboys/Giants gem that took place on Sunday Night capped a solid end to the week 14 games. A lot of people are going to make a lot of hoopla about how the Giants are back and the Cowboys inevitably choke every close game. They'd absolutely be right. From 1960 - 2010 the Cowboys have blown two games in the fourth quarter after being up by 12 or more. This year alone the Cowboys have conquered that feat on three separate occasions. Strong work all around. Are the Giants ready to take control of the division and run away with it? Probably Not. Check out more first class analysis on this week's game after the jump...

NFL Week 14 (But more so MLB/NBA thoughts)

As most of you are aware - this week has been consumed by talks in Major League Baseball on where the most coveted free agents - Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, C.J. Wilson, and Prince Fielder - would end up. As well as rumors in the NBA about where the two most coveted free agents for the class of 2012 (Chris Paul "CP3" and Dwight Howard "D12") will be traded to. It's no secret that I'm a fan of wild speculation - so all week I've been glued to my twitter account, adding 'insiders', and watching the rumors fly around like a prepubescent drama queen. I love it. So instead of sharing my usual expert analysis on each of the week 14 match ups this week - I'll stop to think about what happened this week, and what it all means going forward...

NFL Week 14 (Thursday Game Only)

Is it me or has the NFL been taking a backseat to wild NBA trade speculations and MLB signing this week? I feel like the rest of America is with me when I say week 14 of the NFL doesn't really do too much for me and the game that we have on Thursday Night doesn't help the case. Let's get this game right, and head into Sunday/Monday with a winning record. Click for the pick after the jump...

NFL Week 13 Recap

Preet Braich (pictured middle) fends off best friend
Deepi (on his ass) as the two fight for a loose ball.

There were a lot of good games played this weekend in College as well as the NFL - but there was one match up that I enjoyed significantly more than the rest: The one-on-one basketball game that took place between two best friends Preet Braich & Sundeep Sunny Deepi Boparai Saini Singh. What started as some post-dinner Saturday night banter quickly turned into a night full of drinking and trash-talking. The two competitors took to the court early Sunday morning in the mean streets of Boston, MA donning hangovers, sweatshirts, and a no rules attitude. 


In a game that was played up to 11 - Deepi quickly silenced his critics (myself and Sunny) as he leaped out to a 5-0 lead using an assortment of And-1 moves and lucky turnaround hook shots. It was at this point this his coach/agent/hypeman - Sanj, asked if a Chode rule was in effect at 7-0? Wrong question. Preet finally got on the board as he was able to use his over-bearing build to back down Deepi at will. As the game wore on - the two of these competitors (pictured right) battled for every loose ball and gripped and clawed for every point. And by "gripped and clawed" I mean settled for outside shots and tried to avoid playing any defense. In the end, it was Preet that would be victorious by a score of 11-8 - subsequently cementing Deepi's legacy of choking in the big moment. Overall, it was a fun game to watch and one that should take place more frequently. 


Onto some fun facts, observations, and expert analysis on week 13 of the NFL after the jump...

NFL Week 13 Predictions (Continued)

An absolute dud by the Eagles as their nightmare season continued on Thursday Night versus the Seattle Seahawks. Looks like DeSean Jackson took my advice and has completely mailed in the rest of this season - he's simply not even trying. Missing blocks downfield for his RB, running routes with a limp and his head down, and avoiding any verbal communication with anyone wearing a green jersey. Solid work, DeSean. The Cowboys and Giants definitely approve of this behavior. Let's not harp on the bad, let's get to the good. Any by 'good' I mean our picks this week, hopefully...

NFL Week 13 Predictions (Thursday Game Only)

I've found that I've recently struggled with the games in the NFL because I've been posting my picks and analysis on Thursday - which gives me one less day to check out recent news, injury reports, and to see if any coaches get fired - R.I.P. to Jack Del Rio's tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars. This past week I was successful posting just the Thanksgiving picks on Thursday so this week I'll try the same recipe - Thursday Game prediction and then follow it up with the Sunday/Monday predictions whenever I get around to it. Just trying to give the fans what they want. Check for the Thursday Night pick after the jump...

NFL Week 12 Recap

What a fun 12th week of action in the NFL. First we had TebowMania strike again! I know doing "the Tebow" has become a nationwide phenomena but I think Chargers K Nick Novak is doing it wrong here. Then Lions DT Ndomakong Suh was given a 2 game suspension after he showed a Packers offensive lineman what he was thankful for on Thanksgiving - and the always creative Stevie Johnson gave us a highlight to remember the Bills 2011 season with his TD celebration against the Jets. He also then promptly dropped a ball that would have given the Bills great field position on the final drive - but that's just how the season has gone. Click for some more highlights and in-depth expert analysis on week 12 after the jump...

NFL Week 12 Predictions (Continued)

From about 10am on Thursday morning until 12 midnight on Thanksgiving my entire day was consumed by football. Started out with the inaugural CJSA Turkey Bowl in which the teams were simply 'old heads' vs. 'young heads'. For those keeping track at home I was on the 'young heads' team aka players born in 1985 or later. We won the game thanks to some late game magic from yours truly and "No. 1 Pick" Sunny Randhawa. Physically brutal game - 32 hours later and I'm still having trouble putting my boxers on - ladies? Anyways, we got three gems from the NFL - with hopefully some more great games to follow this weekend. I'll make some picks and hope to get a majority of them right...

NFL Week 12 Predictions (Thanksgiving Games Only)

Thanksgiving = Family, Food, and Football. I simply can not wait for the CJSA Turkey Bowl that will take place at 11am on Thanksgiving morning. The rest of the day will consist of rehashing stories from the game, eating loads and loads of high quality food at my Aunt's place - and of course, sitting in front of the television and watching NFL games. This week's slate of games is as good as its been all year. Click after the jump to get some predictions on what may or may not happen in the NFL on Thanksgiving...

NFL Week 11 Recap

I ran 13.1 miles on Sunday. After that - the rest of the day was a blur. It also looked like the Bills ran 13.1 miles right before the start of their game against the Miami Dolphins. I'm not really sure what happened this week in the NFL. So I'll look through some headlines and see if there are any interesting things to learn going forward...

NFL Week 11 Predictions

This week's slate of games is loaded with a bunch of duds. The best analogy I can come up with is as follows: Imagine your at a "happening" party, everything has been going great, and you're in line at the bar waiting for a drink. Then out of nowhere this foul-smell hits your nostrils and you realize that someone has just cut one of the most rotten farts. Soon enough everyone has cleared the bar and the party momentarily stops as everyone gags for fresh air. That what this weeks NFL Matchups feel like. The entire NFC West plays against one another, the Jaguars and the Browns square off in what should be an offensively handicapped matchup, and the Chiefs and Broncos somehow score primetime games this week. Basically this will be one of the hardest weeks to hand out our weekly "game to avoid watching at all costs." Click after the jump to see if we can sift through the crap to find some winners this week...

NFL Week 10 Recap

As expected - this was another tough week to predict games in the NFL. Eight games in which the point spread was 3 points or less - basically a toss up throughout the slate of games. I probably should have known it was going to be a rough Sunday when my morning started in Chinatown. I've never been out to Chinatown in Philly, but after this weekend, I'll definitely be getting some more late night Asian persuasion in my life especially if scenes like this continue to take occur:

Click for more about this week in the NFL after the jump...