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?

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. 

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...

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...

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...

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...

NBA Week 1 (Christmas Games)

The NBA is BACK - probably the best xmas present I could have asked for - you know, if Santa Claus was real... New players in new cities (CP3 is a Clipper / Mike Dunleavy is a Buck), the Mavs are flying completely under the radar with no one giving them a chance to repeat, the Heat will look to improve on their runner up finish last year with the Big Three. But arguably the best reason to have the NBA back is that we get our first legitimate contributor to the blog - Ram Narayanan (NBA extraordinaire). There's really not much of an intro needed, so I'll let the blog speak for itself. Check out the Xmas game picks 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...

Road to the Final Four (Week 7)

The last week in college basketball has been very uneventful - no major games, no major shakeups, so really nothing to write about. There are a couple of games this week that feature top 25 teams playing against some stiff competition - so there might be somewhat of an impact on the road to the final four. Click for this week's picks after the jump...

NFL Week 16 (Thursday Night Only)

Here we go - two more weeks left in the NFL season - some great games this weekend (Jets/Giants, Eagles/Cowboys, Chargers/Lions, Falcons/Saints - all with significant playoff implications. Unfortunately, it feels like every Thursday Night game has been horrible. This week is no different - but we do get the "Wait, who's their Quarterback?" match up of the year! Check for the pick for Texans/Colts after the jump...

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...