Weekend Football Picks

Carolina +15.5 vs. ATLANTA
Cincinnati +10.5 vs. BALTIMORE
Pittsburgh -5.5 vs. CLEVELAND
KANSAS CITY -3 vs. Oakland
NEW ENGLAND -3 vs. Miami
Tampa Bay +9.5 vs. NEW ORLEANS
Jacksonville 0 vs. HOUSTON
INDIANAPOLIS -9.5 vs. Tennessee
WASHINGTON +4 vs. NY Giants
San Diego -3 vs. DENVER
SAN FRANCISCO -6.5 vs. Arizona
St. Louis -1 vs. SEATTLE
Minnesota +3 vs. DETROIT
NY JETS 0 vs. Buffalo
GREEN BAY -10 vs. Chicago
PHILADELPHIA -6.5 vs. Dallas

Note: some of these odds are impacted by injuries or players projected to rest before the playoffs.


Last Week: 12-4
Season:  115-75-3

Six Patriots named to AFC Pro Bowl Team

QB Tom Brady
LG Logan Mankins
NT Vince Wilfork
LB Jerod Mayo
S Brandon Meriweather 
CB Devin McCourty


Brady, Mayo, Big Vince and McCourty are deserving; Meriweather and Mankins are not. 

Brett Favre's streak of consecutive games started to end at one

ESPN and USA Today are reporting that Brett Favre (concussion, ankle, collarbone, shoulder, exposed penis, over-rated, just threw another interception) is unlikely to play on Tuesday Night Football, meaning his consecutive games started streak will end at one.

Onion SportsDome: Rodney Harrison

Onion SportsDome

BCS Bowl Picks

WISCONSIN +3 vs. TCU - Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA
OKLAHOMA -17 vs. UConn - Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ
Virginia Tech +3.5 vs. STANFORD - Orange Bowl in Miami, FL
Arkansas +3.5 vs. OHIO STATE - Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, LA

Oregon +3 vs. AUBURN - BCS Championship Game in Glendale, AZ

Oregon wins 38-27.

College Bowl Picks

Non-BCS Bowls

Hawaii -10 vs. TULSA - Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu, HI
TOLEDO -1.5 vs. Florida International - Little Caesars Bowl in Detroit, MI
AIR FORCE -2.5 vs. Georgia Tech - Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA
WEST VIRGINIA -3 vs. NC State - Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, FL
Missouri -2.5 vs. IOWA - Insight Bowl in Tempe, AZ
MARYLAND -7 vs. East Carolina - Military Bowl in Washington, DC
Illinois +1 vs. BAYLOR - Texas Bowl in Houston, TX
OKLAHOMA STATE -4.5 vs. Arizona - Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, TX
SMU -7 vs. Army - Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas, TX
Kansas State +1 vs. SYRACUSE - Pinstripe Bowl in Bronx, NY
TENNESSEE +2 vs. North Carolina - Music City Bowl in Nashville, TN
NEBRASKA -14 vs. Washington - Holiday Bowl in San Diego, CA
CLEMSON -5.5 vs. USF - Meineke Bowl in Charlotte, NC
MIAMI -3 vs. Notre Dame - Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX
GEORGIA -6.5 vs. Central Florida - Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN
SOUTH CAROLINA -3 vs. FSU - Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, GA
TEXAS TECH -9.5 vs. Northwestern - Ticket City Bowl in Dallas, TX
ALABAMA -9.5 vs. Michigan State - Capital One Bowl in Orlando, FL
Penn State +7.5 vs. FLORIDA - Outback Bowl in Tampa, FL
Michigan +4.5 vs.MISSISSIPPI STATE - Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, FL
MIAMI (OH) -1 vs. Middle Tennessee - GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, AL
LSU -1 vs. Texas A&M - Cotton Bowl in Arlington, TX
PITTSBURGH -3 vs. Kentucky - BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, AL
Boston College +7.5 vs. NEVADA - Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco, CA

Bowls to date: 0-4
Season: 38-42-1


Did not pick two bowls (would have gone 1-1, picking Boise State -17.5 and Louisville -3.5, but that doesn't count)

Weekend Football Picks

Dallas -7 vs. ARIZONA
New England -7.5 vs. BUFFALO
CHICAGO 0 vs. NY Jets
Baltimore -3.5 vs. CLEVELAND
Washington +7 vs. JACKSONVILLE
Tennessee +5 vs. KANSAS CITY
Detroit +3.5 vs. MIAMI
ST. LOUIS -2.5 vs. San Francisco
DENVER +3 vs. Houston
Indianapolis -2.5 vs. OAKLAND
San Diego -7.5 vs. CINCINNATI
TAMPA BAY -6 vs. Seattle
NY Giants +3 vs. GREEN BAY
Minnesota +14.5 vs. PHILADELPHIA
New Orleans +3 vs. ATLANTA

This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 8-8
Season: 104-71-3

Steve Martin's Holiday Wish

Thursday Night Football

PITTSBURGH -14 vs. Carolina

Poinsettia Bowl

Navy +3 vs. SAN DIEGO STATE (at San Diego)

The stadium was underwater, so I like Navy's chances. Also under 57.5.

Bowls to date: not sure, probably not good.

Additional NFL Picks

NFL


Kansas City +3 vs. ST. LOUIS
Green Bay +15.5 vs. NEW ENGLAND
MINNESOTA +9 vs Chicago (at University of Minnesota)

This Week: 0-1 

Football Picks

College

UTEP +11.5 vs. BYU

Fresno State +1 vs. Northern Illinois

Ohio +2.5 vs Troy

will pick other bowl games when I have more time.

Last Week: 0-1

Overall: 38-38-1

NFL

San Francisco +9 vs. SAN DIEGO

New Orleans +1 vs. BALTIMORE

CAROLINA -2.5 vs. Arizona

Cleveland +1.5 vs. CINCINNATI

DALLAS -6 vs. Washington

INDIANAPOLIS -5 vs. Jacksonville

Buffalo +5.5 vs. MIAMI

NY GIANTS -2.5 vs. Philadelphia

TAMPA BAY -5.5 vs. Detroit

TENNESSEE 0 vs. Houston

Atlanta -6 vs. SEATTLE

OAKLAND -6.5 vs Denver

PITTSBURGH -6 vs. NY Jets

will pick KC at STL, GB at NE, and CHI and MINN closer to game times.  

Last Week: 8-8
Overall: 95-63-3

Football Picks

College

Army +7.5 vs. Navy (in Philadelphia)

Last Week: 4-3
Overall: 38-37-1

NFL

Indianapolis -3 vs. TENNESSEE

Cleveland +1 vs. BUFFALO

Atlanta -7.5 vs CAROLINA

Green Bay -6.5 vs. DETROIT
Oakland +4.5 vs. JACKSONVILLE

Cincinnati +9.5 vs. PITTSBURGH

WASHINGTON +2 vs. Tampa Bay

NEW ORLEANS -9 vs. St. Louis

Seattle +5 vs. SAN FRANCISCO

New England -3 vs. CHICAGO

NY JETS -5 vs. Miami

Kansas City +9.5 vs. SAN DIEGO (edited the spread on Fri. Was +7.5)

DALLAS +3.5 vs. Philadelphia

Baltimore -2.5 vs. HOUSTON

NY Giants -2 vs. MINNESOTA

Denver -4.5 vs. ARIZONA

Last Week: 14-2

Overall: 87-55-3

In Soviet Russia, Football Kick You

Maybe the US will get another World Cup in 2026, but for now, here are a few random thoughts.

1.  Congratulations to the counties selected to host the World Cup; Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.

2.  I'm not sure I wanted the event back in the US anyways.  Soccer will stay solvent in the US and gain popularity during each World Cup, but that's about it.

3.  The world will be a different place 8 and 12 years from now.

4.  Brazil, then Russia, then Qatar - sound like real security nightmares to me.

5.  Summers in Qatar are unbearably hot, aren't they?  Air conditioned open-air stadiums, or not.

6.  F*** FIFA.

7.  FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, needs to go away.

8.  England, many will argue, should be more upset about todays results than the US.  This could mean more disappointment for the US, if England gets awarded the Cup in 2026.

9.  FIFA is corrupt.

10.  Did I mention, F*** FIFA.

Something Old, Something New

The LA Clippers beat the San Antonio Spurs last night 90-85, answering the question, what would happen if a bunch of really good college kids played against an NBA team.

Well, actually not answering that question at all.

The Clippers are, in fact, still an NBA team.  What I found most interesting about the Clippers (sans Chris Kamen and with Baron Davis coming off the bench after missing 14 games due to injury) is the age of their starting line-up.

Here they are:

PF Blake Griffin - Rookie, 21
SF Al-Farouq Aminu - Rookie, 20
PG Eric Bledsoe - Rookie, 20
SG Eric Gordon - 3rd year, 21
C DeAndre Jordan - 3rd year, 22

This group of Clippers all played significant minutes and beat the best team in the NBA last night.  The five players above all left college early, are making a lot of money, and making significant contributions to their employer, when they could still be in college or having just finished.

Hopefully these players continue to pursue college degrees.  Education is important for everybody, even talented and rich athletes.  But when it comes to the NBA, it's so much for "stay in school".

Football Picks

College

ARIZONA -5 vs. Arizona State
Oregon -16.5 vs. OREGON STATE
Auburn -5 vs. SOUTH CAROLINA (in Atlanta)
Florida State +4 vs. VIRGINIA TECH (in Charlotte)
OKLAHOMA 6.5 vs. Nebraska (in Arlington, TX)
USC -6.5 at UCLA
SOUTH FLORIDA -1.5 vs. UConn

Last Week: 7-5
Overall: 34-34-1

NFL

PHILADELPHIA -8 vs. Houston
CINCINNATI +7 vs. New Orleans
Chicago -3 vs. DETROIT
GREEN BAY -9.5 vs. San Francisco
Denver +10 vs. KANSAS CITY
Cleveland +4.5 vs. MIAMI
MINNESOTA -5.5 vs. Buffalo
NY GIANTS -7 vs. Washington
Oakland +13.5 vs. SAN DIEGO
Atlanta -2 vs. TAMPA BAY
ARIZONA +3 vs. St. Louis
Dallas +5 vs. INDIANAPOLIS
SEATTLE -6 vs. Carolina
BALTIMORE -2.5 vs. Pittsburgh
NEW ENGLAND -3 vs. NY Jets
Jacksonville +2 vs. TENNESSEE

Last Week: 8-8
Overall: 73-53-3

No Respect

The Boston Globe (and boston.com) really doesn't care who the Celtics are playing.