As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round.

Top 5 NFL Quarterbacks of the Past Decade
1. Tom Brady
2. Peyton Manning
3. Brett Favre
4. Donovan McNabb
5. Drew Brees


Week 17 Picks
__________________SPA____Topher___Timmy___Ford
Car at Atl___________Atl______Atl_____Atl_____Atl
Pit at Cle___________Pit_____Pit_____Pit______Pit
Min at Det__________Min_____Min_____Det______Det
Oak at K.C.__________Oak____K.C.____Oak______Oak
Mia at N.E._________N.E.___N.E.____N.E._____N.E.
T.B. at N.O.__________N.O.___N.O.____N.O.______N.O.
Buf at N.J._________NYJ_____NYJ____NYJ_____NYJ
Cin at Bal__________Bal____Bal___Bal_____Bal
Jac at Hou___________Hou_____Hou____Jac_______Jac
NYG at Was__________NYG____NYG____NYJ______NYG
Dal at Phi__________Phi_____Dal___Phi______Phi
Ari at S.F._________S.F.____S.F.___Ari______Ari
Chi at G.B__________G.B.____G.B.___G.B.______G.B.
Ten at Ind__________Ind____Ind___Ind_____Ind
S.D. at Den__________S.D.___S.D.___Den______Den
STL at Sea__________Sea_____STL____Sea_______STL
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Last Week ___________10-6___12-4____9-7______9-7
Season Total_________68-41___77-32____64-36_____72-37
Winning %__________62%____71%_____64%______66%

Aunt Bethany, does your cat eat jello?

Some thoughts on the week in sports.

I think what the Connecticut women's basketball team did is amazing. Even if they have been playing mediocre competition it's still impressive to win that many games.

Favre please quit. I have loved watching you but I don't want the last image of you on a football field to be you lying on a stretcher.

I can't believe Boise State went from playing in a BCS game to playing on December 22nd. Not even playing in a bowl game after Christmas. Crazy.

I was having a discussion recently with a friend about the greatest sports movies of all time. I love these types of lists and since its the Christmas season I thought I would share my Top 5 favorite Christmas movies of all time. I suppose this has nothing to do with sports but oh well.

My Top 5 Christmas Movies
1. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
2. Home Alone
3. Scrooged
4. A Christmas Story
5. Elf


All of us had a rough time last week with our picks with Timmy and Ford leading the way with 10-6 weekends. Topher is still leading the way but Ford is closing in with 2 weeks to go. I'm still in 3rd followed by Timmy. With the busy of Christmas I've decided not to do any in depth picks. On to this weeks picks. Have a Blessed Christmas.


Week 16 Picks
__________________SPA____Topher___Timmy___Ford
Car at Pit___________Pit______Pit_____Pit______Pit
Dal at Ari___________Dal_____Dal_____Dal______Dal
Was at Jac__________Jac_____Jac_____Jac______Jac
Det at Mia___________Det____Det_____Det______Mia
S.F. at STL__________STL____STL_____STL______STL
Ten at K.C.__________Ten____K.C.____K.C.______K.C.
NYJ at Chi__________NYJ_____Chi____NYJ______NYJ
N.E. at Buf__________N.E.____N.E.___N.E.______N.E.
Bal at Cle___________Bal_____Bal____Bal_______Bal
Hou at Den__________Hou____Den____Hou______Den
S.D. at Cin__________Cin_____S.D.___S.D.______S.D.
Ind at Oak__________Oak_____Ind____Oak______Ind
NYG at G.B__________G.B.____G.B.___G.B.______G.B.
Sea at T.B.__________T.B.____T.B.___T.B._____Sea
Min at Phi___________Phi____Phi_____Phi______Phi
N.O. at Atl__________Atl_____Atl____Atl_______Atl
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Last Week ___________8-8____9-7_____10-6______10-6
Season Total_________58-35___65-28____55-29_____63-30
Winning %__________62%____70%_____65%______68%

"Losers quit when they're tired. Winners quit when they've won"

Some thoughts on the week in sports.

Brett Favre is the man. I already have an entire blog article about him so there's not much to say. The man is a freak and has to be the toughest player to every play the game. Love em.

The Raiders still have a chance for the playoffs. Slim, but still possible. When your team has been so bad it's pretty exciting to even have your team be at 6-7.

Cliff Lee to the Phillies. Love it. It's good to see that the Yankees can't get anyone they want. I also love that he's out of the American League all together.

Aaron Rodgers helped me go 22-5 in my two fantasy teams this year and then gets a concussion just as the playoffs start. Awesome.

Thinking about the Vikings-Bears game at TCF Bank Stadium got me thinking about outdoor games. I think it would be so great if they played a Super Bowl in a small cold weather stadium. Perhaps, Lambeau.

Onto this weeks predictions. Spa is not doing well. I went 9-7 last week. Topher continued his hot streak with a 12-4 week. Timmy went 10-6 and Ford went 11-5. The overall standings stay the same with Topher still leading followed by Ford, Timmy and me brining up the rear. Have a great weekend!



Kansas City at St. Louis
A huge match up of 2 of the biggest surprises of the season. The Chiefs come into the game at 8-5 and lead the Chargers by one game. The Rams are tied with the Seahawks atop the underachieving NFL West with a record of 6-7. Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassell sat out the last game for the Chiefs after having an appendectomy December 8th but may play in this game. Hopefully for the Chiefs he does. Brodie Croyle his back up may be statistically the worst back up ever. He is 0-10 as a starter and last week was 7-17 passing for 40 yards. The Chiefs have not faired well on the road this year going 2-5. Regardless of who starts are quarterback for the Chiefs I’ll take Sam Bradford and the Rams at home in a low scoring game. Rams 14-10

New Orleans at Baltimore
This should be one of the best games of the week. The Ravens are 5-2 in their last 6 games. In that time Joe Flacco has completed 65% of his passed for 1800 yards, 14 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. Since losing to the Browns on October 24th the Saints have won 6 in a row and are averaging 31 points a game. Last week the Ravens gave up 3 touchdown passes and almost 400 yards passing to Matt Schaub. I think Brees has a huge game and the Saints continue their winning way on the road in Baltimore. Saints 34-31.



Week 15 Picks
_____________________SPA___Topher___Timmy____Ford
S.F at S.D.____________S.D.____S.D._____S.F.______S.F.
Cle at Cin_____________Cle_____Cle______Cle______Cin
Was at Dal____________Dal_____Dal_____Dal______Dal
Hou at Ten____________Hou____Hou_____Ten______Hou
Jac at Ind_____________Ind____Ind_____Jac_______Ind
K.C. at Stl_____________Stl_____Stl_____K.C.______K.C.
Buf at Mia_____________Buf____Buf_____Mia______Mia
Det at T.B._____________T.B.____T.B.____T.B.______T.B.
Ari at Car______________Ari_____Ari____Car_______Car
N.O. at Bal_____________N.O.____Bal____Bal_______N.O.
Phi at NYG_____________NYG____NYG____Phi______NYG
Atl at Sea______________Atl_____Atl_____Atl_______Atl
NYJ at Pit______________Pit_____Pit_____Pit_______Pit
Den at Oak_____________Oak____Oak_____Oak______Oak
Chi at Min______________Chi____Chi_____Chi_______Chi
G.B. at N.E._____________N.E.___N.E._____N.E.______N.E.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Last Week ______________9-7____12-4______10-6______11-5
Season Total____________50-27___56-21_____45-23_____53-24
Winning %_____________65%____73%______66%______69%

Taylor Martinez is actually a Deer

Nebraska blows another chance at a Big 12 Championship. Again. Nebraska is forced to play in the Holiday Bowl. Again. Nebraska will be playing the University of Washington. Again. Man, what a difference a good quarterback makes. Nebraska had a great chance to beat Oklahoma this past weekend in the last Big 12 Championship again. They were in field goal range. Then Taylor Martinez decided to do an impression of a deer in the head lights. Again. It’s so frustrating as a fan when the defense plays so well again and again and the inept offense struggles over and over again. Okay. I'm off my rant. Nope. I can accept that Nebraska lost. I can even accept that we lost to Oklahoma. What I can’t understand is the opponent the Huskers got for their Bowl game. All I hear is that the bowl games are all about the money. I wish someone could tell me how a rematch with a team they already beat by 35 points will be a big draw. I love watching Nebraska play but I don’t have a lot of interest in watching a college game I’ve already seen that wasn’t good to begin with. Okay, now I’m really off of my rant. Last week in the predictions we all had great weeks. Topher led all of us with a 13-3 week. The rest of us all had 12-4 weeks. The overall leader is still Topher followed by Ford, myself and Timmy. On to this weeks in depth predictions.

Oakland @ Jacksonville
These 2 teams are basically mirror images of each other offensively. Look at the stats:
Oakland is averaging 339 yards a game on offense. Jacksonville, 338. Oakland passes on average for 190 yards per game. Jacksonville, 187. Oakland rushed for an average of 149 yards per game. Jacksonville, 152. Total yards on offense through the season. Oakland has racked up 4,062 yards. Jacksonville, 4,061. I see this games being a low scoring affair with both teams trying to grind it out on the ground. The Raiders rushed the ball 52 times last week and racked up 251 yards. Jacksonville with one of the best runners in the league in Maurice Jone-Drew, ran the ball 53 times for 258 yards against Tennessee. I think the difference in this game will be Jacoby Ford. The rookie wide receiver for the Raiders has come up big for them this season and I think he will do it again. Raiders 17-14.

New England @ Chicago
Patriots offense vs. the Bears defense. I’m excited to see if Brady can continue his amazing play against this Bears defense. In the last 4 games Brady has put up MVP numbers. He’s passed for 1,200 yards, 13 touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 73% of his passes. If Cutler can keep his interceptions down I think the Bears can win this game but I don’t think he will. I’ll take Belichick’s game plan and Brady’s arm in this game. Patriots 38-31.


Week 14 Picks

_____________________SPA____Topher___Timmy____Ford
Ind at Ten_____________Ind____Ind______Ind______Ind.
Cle at Buf_____________Cle_____Buf_____Cle_______Buf
Cin at Pit______________Pit____Pit______Pit_______Pit
G.B. at Det_____________G.B.___G.B._____G.B._____G.B.
NYG at Min_____________Min___NYG_____NYG_____NYG
T.B. at Was_____________Was___T.B._____T.B._____Was
Atl at Car______________Atl____Atl______Atl______Atl
Oak at Jax_____________Oak____Jax_____Jax______Jax
Sea at S.F._____________Sea_____S.F.____Sea______S.F.
STL at N.O.____________N.O.____N.O.____N.O._____N.O.
Mia at NYJ_____________NYJ____NYJ_____NYJ_____NYJ
Den at Ari______________Ari_____Den____Den______Den
K.C. at S.D.____________S.D.____S.D._____K.C._____K.C.
N.E. at Chi_____________N.E.___N.E._____N.E._____N.E.
Phi at Dal______________Phi____Dal______Phi _______Phi
Bal at Hou_____________Bal____Bal_______Bal______Bal

_________________________________________________

Last Week ______________12-4____13-3______12-4______12-4

Season Total____________41-20___44-17_____35-17_____42-19

Lebron comes home

Before this weeks picks I had some thoughts on the week in sports.

I was watching Mike and Mike and the Dan Patrick Show this morning and all they were talking about was Lebron coming back to Cleveland. This is the most excited I’ve been to watch an NBA game since Reggie Miller retired. They had callers suggesting different ways for the fans to react. Callers were talking about how much people are going to boo him. The cleverest one I heard was for everyone to go silent when he is introduced. I think this would be great. Crowds have always booed players but I’ve never seen a game where all of the fans become silent when a player is introduced. I think it would be clever and unique. I don’t want to see Lebron get hurt but I kind of want to see someone run onto the court and try to hit him. It would be bad for the game but pretty interesting drama. I’m also really curious to see how he plays. I can see him going 1-15 in the game but I can also see him going off for like 60 points.

I’ve been really tired of hearing all this stuff about Cam Newton and whether he will be ruled ineligible. I’m really glad that it came out and was decided he can play. If only that was the end of it but I somehow doubt it is.

The Yankees came out this week and said they want Derek Jeter to look at other teams and see if he can find a better offer. I really hope he takes their bluff and leaves. I can’t imagine how big of a p.r. disaster it would be to let Mr. Yankee walk to another team. I think he would look good in the Angels red but no way I would want them to pay him as much as the Yankees are willing to pay. I’m curious if the Red Sox offered him like 25 million more than the Yankees if he would take it.

Lastly, Nebraska vs. Oklahoma. When the news first broke that Nebraska was leaving the Big 12 for the Big 10 I was a little bummed. I’ve always like the rivalries that Nebraska has had. Colorado. K-State. Texas. After being bummed for a short while I couldn’t be more happy now that Nebraska is getting out from under Texas thumb and leaving what I think is a sinking ship in the Big 12. I think it’s only a matter of time before the Big 12 dissolves and the remaining 10 teams head to other conferences. I think life in the Big 10 will be great. I think the rivalry with Iowa will be just as great as any rivalry we had in the Big 12. Back to the Oklahoma game though. I’m so excited to get to play Oklahoma one more time. I’m so excited to see Bob Stoops cry. After all of the crap Nebraska has gotten about leaving the Big 12 I would love to see Nebraska win the last Big 12 Championship game. Go Big Red!

None of us had a great week with picks. Topher is the leader at 31-14 followed closly by Ford who is at 3--15. I'm in third at 29-16 and Tim is still in last at 23-9. Onto this weeks picks.

I’ve decided to only do 2 in depth predictions this week because frankly, the schedule is weak when it comes to exciting games. The schedule does have 2 interesting games this week on it though. 2 divisional games that may decide the division.


Picks for Week 13
Pit @ Bal
Pittsburgh at Baltimore. I love this matchup. 2 tough teams with young head coaches, great running games and hard hitting defenses. The Steelers and Ravens are ranked 5th and 8th in Total Defense respectively. Both these teams have young quarterbacks. Roethlisberger is 5th in Passer rating while Joe Flacco is ranked 11th. These teams are almost mirror images of each other. Just how even are they? Over the last 6 ½ years, including 13 regular season games and 1 playoff game each team has won 7 times. The Steelers have scored 265 points. The Ravens? 264. Crazy even. I believe the Ravens will win this game for 3 reasons. They are playing at home, where they are undefeated this year. Ben Roethlisberger has been practicing in a walking boot all week. Lastly, out of the 3 losses this year for the Ravens, 2 have been on the road at the Patriots and the Falcons who are both undefeated at home. Ravens 24-21.

NYJ @ N.E.
Another matchup that I love. There are so many plot lines for this game. My favorite is Rex Ryan saying the following quote last year. "I never came here to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings.” So far he has made good winning 2 of 3 against the Patriots. The Patriots have been on a roll recently winning 3 in a row, including wins over the Steelers and the Colts. The Jets have won 4 in a row but those wins have come against teams that are a combined 13-31. I like the Patriots at home 27-20.

_____________________SPA____Topher___Timmy____Ford
Hou at Phi______________Phi____Phi______Phi______Phi.
Was at NYG_____________NYG___NYG_____NYG_____NYJ
Dev at K.C.______________K.C.___K.C._____K.C._____K.C.
Jac at Ten______________Ten____Jac______Jac_____Jac
S.F.at G.B.______________G.B.___G.B._____G.B._____G.B.
Cle at Mia ______________Cle____Cle______Cle______Cle
Buf at Min______________Min___Min______Min_____Min
Chi at Det______________Chi____Chi______Chi______Det
N.O. at Cin______________N.O___N.O._____N.O._____N.O.
Oak at S.D._____________S.D.____S.D._____S.D._____S.D.
Car at Sea______________Sea____Sea______Sea______Sea
Atl at T.B.______________Atl_____Atl______Atl______Atl
STL at Ari______________STL____STL_____STL______Ari
Dal at Ind______________Ind____Ind______Ind______Ind
Pit at Bal_______________Bal____Bal______Bal _______Pit
NYJ at N.E._____________N.E.___N.E.______NYJ______N.E.

_________________________________________________

Last Week ______________11-5____11-5______9-7_______10-6

Season Total____________29-16___31-14_____23-9______30-15