Super Bowl Picks

Well it all comes down to this game. Loren is one up on me so basically I have to pick against him to tie for the playoffs.

Derek

Arizona vs Pittsburgh
Arizona. Well first I have to pick against Loren. Can the Cards win? Sure the underdog in the Super Bowl pulls off upsets all the time. Giants vs Pats, Pats vs Rams, uhh well I'm sure I'm forgetting someone else. Throw it to Fitzgerald and let him do what he does.

Loren

Arizona vs Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh. Let me start by saying that no one will be as happy as me if Arizona ends up winning this game. The Cardinals are fun, they have an exciting offense, it's impossible to root against Kurt Warner unless you also like to torture little puppies, and they're the underdogs. Usually this means I would be all of them. However, the Steeler's D is just too much and their offense has been moving the ball consistently. This looks to be a long day for the Cards Offense and they will need multiple big plays and a near perfect game as far as turnovers. That's just too much to ask of them.

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NFL Picks

Here we are, tied going into the Conference Championship weekend. As usual, we are tied due to an extraordinarily high rate of suck at picking the winners.

Onward to fail:

Derek

Philadelphia @ Arizona
Philadelphia. For weeks I've been saying that the Cards are the worst team in the playoffs. So far I've been proven wrong. But in this case I'll take a team whose D can play with the Cards O. I'll say Westbrook breaks two big plays and McNabb has one. This will be enough to get past the Cards. 27-24

Baltimre @ Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh. For me this was one tough pick. I've liked the Ravens for awhile (yes I picked them to lose, but it was to my Dolphins team) and their D has played beyond great. That being said the Steelers D is no slouch and will hold the Ravens running game to less than 50 yards and passing less than 200. I don't think the Ravens will be able to score more than 10 points on O, I think their D will set up a score but... 24-13.

Loren

Philly @ Arizona
'Zona. I'm taking the home team because, in part, they seem to blessed. Somebody is looking out for this team. Getting Boldin back isn't going to hurt, either. And if were to bet on who would be consistently decent over the course of the playoffs, I'd have to lay money on Warner over McNabb.

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh
Steelers. The Ravens have not yet been tested by a D as dominating and fast as the Steelers, except perhaps their own in practice. Wait, am I talking myself out of this pick? Nah, with the defenses being equal, I'll stick with the big play ability of Washington and Ward over anything the Ravens have on offense.

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Run Rickey Run

Today Rickey Henderson did one of the toughest things to do in the Majors. He was voted in to the Hall of Fame. I’ve long said that getting into MLB’s Hall of Fame was the most difficult thing in sports to do. Sure I’m not correct in that, but seriously just look at some of the names who have not got in there.

Rickey Henderson holds many a record from steals (50% more than second place) to leadoff homeruns. But the one record I think that elevates him above others is runs. He has scored more runs than anyone else in baseball history with 2295. And as we all know you have to score to win games and winning games is what its all about.

Congrats to Jim Rice as well. This was his last year of eligibility and he finally made the cut.

On another note Mark McGwire received 10 fewer votes than he did last year. Don’t do drugs kids.

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Playoff picks round 2

So first round of playoffs are over and Loren is up 2 to 1. I encourage everyone to check out our next show running from 1.16 and 1.30, you’ll get to see Loren sporting a fine Marino jersey. Anyway on to the picks.

Derek

Baltimore @ Tennessee
Baltimore. Sure, sure I’m taking the underdog with a rookie QB that is playing an away game. However I’ve seen the Ravens last few games and I’m not sure anyone can score more than 10 points on this team I also think the Ravens D will either score or set up an easy score. Plus Ed Reed. 17-10

Arizona @ Carolina
Carolina. Out of the eight teams left Arizona is the one that does not fit. This should be the easiest pick of the week. Carolina will hold the Cards D to a reasonable sum with the help of their running game. 21-17

Charges @ Steelers
Steelers. Pretty much the same thing as Loren says below. 26-13

Philadelphia @ New York Giants
Giants. Can Philly beat the Giants in NY two times in a month. I say no. Theses teams know each other better than most. I’ll take the defending champion, home team, better team. 24-14

Loren

Baltimore @ Tennessee
Tennessee. They've been getting it done all year, and there's no reason to think they'll stop now. I give all the credit in the world to the Raven's D and Joe Flacco for playing at an incredibly high level, but the bubble will burst at some point, and it's likely to be a team that can control the clock, limit mistakes, and run the ball (even against that stellar defense).

Arizona @ Carolina
Carolina. Both teams can score, but only one has a real shot at playing defense. I love the resurgent Kurt Warner story line, but the Panthers are good. Really good. I expect a monster day from Delhomee, and when the defense drops back to cover the pass, Carolina will carve them up with DeAngelo Williams.

Chargers @ Steelers
Steelers. Home crowd, vicious D, well coached, experience. I guess the only thing left to say is that Norv Turner is "leading" the other team.

Eagles @ Giants
Giants. Philly will come up short like it usually does, only this time they won't necessarily beat themselves. They won't have to because NY is good enough to take what Philly can throw at them and punch back harder. The Giants have had a nice rest and I expect them to punish the Eagles with a steady dose of Jacobs, and just when they're out of breath, here come Ward or Bradshaw to slice through the line. I don't think it will even be close.

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Blazers front office makes mistake

In an email I’m sure you’ve read or read about the Portland Trail Blazers have issued a warning to the other 29 NBA teams. Letting them know that if they sign Darius Miles with the purpose of affecting the Blazer salary cap and tax situation then they will contemplate legal action. Below is a copy of the email from Team President Larry Miller.

'Team Presidents and General Managers,

'The Portland Trail Blazers are aware that certain teams may be contemplating signing Darius Miles to a contract for the purpose of adversely impacting the Portland Trail Blazers Salary Cap and tax positions. Such conduct from a team would violate its fiduciary duty as an NBA joint venturer. In addition, persons or entities involved in such conduct may be individually liable to the Portland Trail Blazers for tortuously interfering with the Portland Trail Blazers' contract rights and perspective economic opportunities.

'Please be aware that if a team engages in such conduct, the Portland Trail Blazers will take all necessary steps to safeguard its rights, including, without limitation, litigation.'

And to follow up on that here is a short summary of the situation.

The Blazer released Miles after he was declared unable to perform because of a medical injury. Once this happened the Blazers still have to pay Miles but the remaining $18 million ($9 million for this season and another $9 million for next) does not count against the cap, unless Miles plays 10 games in either this season or next. So far Miles has played in 6 preseason games with Boston and 2 regular season games with Memphis, who recently waived him.

For me this all boils down too the Blazers over reacting. If the Blazers felt that teams are thinking of signing Miles just to put his contract back on their books they should talk to the league about this and not threaten the other teams. This is a league were you have to work with other teams in order to get better. In addition David Stern is not a guy you want to piss off. I think this should have been brought to his attention first and handled from a league stand point.
It feels almost like a bullying statement. It makes me feel like the old regime is back and trying to lay down the law.

And I’m sure that Darius Miles “People” will have issue with this. Obviously it would be easy to argue that the Blazers are trying to hinder Miles career.

Look Portland signed him to this contract. When it became more than clear they did not want to have Darius on the team they had a few choices, cut him, trade him, or try to get him to retire. They decided that his knee was bad enough that an independent doctor might rule that he was unable to play on the knee anymore and could file for a medical retirement. They knew the risks when they decided to go down this road. It was the best choice they had and they went with it. Good for them. But now is not the time to whine about it. The Blazers have made many strides over the past few years. Let’s not revert back, hey you win some and you lose some and the Blazers front office has had quite a winning streak as of late. Perhaps it was time for a loss.

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NFL Playoffs round one

Well the Regular season is over, Loren and I talked about extending the pick competition into the playoffs until we did some math. I’m up by 12 picks and there are only 11 playoff games. So Loren will be donning the Dan Marino Jersey on our next episode. That being said we thought we would pick the playoff games too for fun you know.

Derek

Atlanta @ Arizona
Atlanta. This should be the easiest pick of the first round games. The only problem here is that Atlanta has a rookie QB and is 4-4 on the road, while Arizona is 6-2 at home with a very experience QB. That being said I think that Atlanta will be able to run the ball enough to keep the Cards offense off the field. 24-20

Indianapolis @ San Diego
Indianapolis. I think I’ll take a team that has won 9 in a row and the MVP versus a team that has won 4 in a row and has a hurt LDT. I Think the AFC will come down to Pitt and Indy, so I have to take Indy here. Turner will go down and then Cower will have some tough choices. 31-17

Baltimore @ Miami
Miami. Sure Baltimore’s last playoff win was 20-3 at Miami, sure Baltimore beat Miami 27-13 this season in Miami sure Baltimore’s Offensive coordinator was Miami’s head coach last year and has a huge grudge since being fired after one year (dude you only won a game). That being said I’m a Dolphin fan so I’m taking them in every game I can. Hey they are playing a rookie QB. 24-10

Philadelphia @ Minnesota
Philadelphia. Two of the better running backs face off in this one, so I’ll call that a wash. Philly has a better QB and better D while Minny has the home field. I think Tavaris Jackson will not be able to control the game the way the Vikings need and will end up costing them the game on a Philly defensive TD. 24-20

Loren

Atlanta at Arizona
Atlanta. This one looks so obvious on the surface that you just can't believe it could be that simple. The Falcons have a good defense, a big time RB, and a legitimate (though rookie) QB. The Cards have an inconsistent defense, no running attack to speak of, and a legitimate QB. Hmmm....I'm not saying that Warner and their passing attack can't beat the Falcons. I'm saying that Warner and their passing attack won't beat them.

Indy at San Diego.
Indy. Eesh, no confidence in this pick at all. Choose a Sunday (or Saturday in this case) and the Chargers could beat the Steelers, and could just as easily lose to the Raiders. Indy has a habit of letting teams stay in games and, of course, San Diego likes to turn it on in the fourth quarter. All of this makes me really uneasy, but I can't make myself pick against Manning right now.

Baltimore at Miami
Baltimore. Here's another one that's tough to call. Anyone else get the feeling that Sparano has been saving something really wacky for the playoffs, or that given the circumstances he might send the punting team out on first down and run an option with the backup QB? Unfortunately for them, I don't think any amount of trickery will succeed against the Ravens' D. So here I am again, picking the team with the Rookie QB. Someone stop me, please.

Philly @ Minny
Philly. I can't believe I'm doing this. One of my cardinals rules is that you never, under any circumstances, pick the Eagles in the playoffs. However, if you set up an equation that has Philly's D, McNabb, and Westbrook on one side and has Minny's D, Tarvaris Jackson, and Peterson on the other...which side comes out better. Well, since Jackson actually drags his side of the equation down, I'm going with Philly. You should too, so that I don't feel bad about myself when Minny runs 'em into the ground.

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