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