AL First Half Awards

After handing out awards for the top first half performers in the National League, Bleeding Sports does the same for the American League.

Biggest Surprise: Ben Zobrist, Rays

Zobrist emerged as valuable utility man for Tampa Bay last season playing all over the field during the franchise’s unbelievable run to the World Series. This season the Rays haven’t been able to take Zobrist out of the lineup and have found him a steady position at 2B filling in for injured Akinori Iwamura. Zobrist is now a fixture in the five spot of the Rays’ lineup while finishing the first half 2nd in slugging and OPS while on pace to hit over 30 home runs for the season.

Biggest Disappointment: Joba Chamberlain, Yankees

There have been a quite a few household names in the AL that haven’t lived up to expectations this season. It took Boston slugger over a month to hit his first home run, but he was showing signs of decline at the end of last season so many observers saw it coming. Alex Rodriguez continues to disappoint on and off the field between steroid admissions, hip injuries, and tabloid fodder all while opposing pitchers no longer fear pitching to him. Arod’s Yankee teammate, Joba Chamberlain, has been a whole lot of hype with little to show for it as a starting pitcher. Yankee fan sure expected for than four victories in the first half while being among the top ten in the league in walks allowed.

Breakout Performer: Zack Grienke, Royals

Grienke began the season by putting together a historic string of pitching performances. Grienke was a staggering 8-1 with a 0.84 ERA on May 26th and his ERA didn’t surpass 1.00 until the last day of May. Grienke cooled off a bit for the remainder of the first half, but still leads the league ERA and has become a household name in baseball. He has been the best comeback in story this season after overcoming past battles with depression.

Cy Young: Josh Beckett, Red Sox

The complete antithesis of Grienke this year, Beckett started the year extremely slow. For the last two months, however, Beckett has been a ball of fire. He finished the first half tied for the league lead in victories with an 11-3 record and 3.35 ERA while reminding everyone in baseball that he’s still the best pitcher on the AL’s best team.

AL MVP: Joe Mauer, Twins

Picking an AL MVP is a tough one because nobody has really stood out, but nobody could argue against Minnesota’s All-World catcher. Despite missing the first month of the season, Mauer didn’t miss a beat and put up MVP numbers in the first half. Mauer finished the first half batting a league leading .373 with 15 HRs and 49 RBIs and also leads the AL in slugging and OPS.

NL First Half Awards

Before the second half of the Major League Baseball season gets underway, Bleeding Sports hands out some awards for the first half of the 2009 season. We'll start with the National League.

Biggest Surprise: Raul Ibanez, Phillies

Ibanez was a solid player who flew under the radar in Kansas City and Seattle, but even hardcore baseball fans couldn’t have seen this type of season coming. The 37 year old outfielder signed with Philadelphia in the offseason and jacked 22 home runs by June 13th before a groin injury put his on the DL. Ibanez has returned, and despite the missed time, is on pace to hit 48 long balls in 140 games played.

Biggest Disappointment: David Wright, Mets

Sure, Wright batted .324 in the first half, but, much like the rest of his teammates, the All-Star third baseman has been a major disappointment and it can’t all be blamed on spacious Citi Field. Wright is on pace to have the worst offensive season of his career after hitting an inexplicable 5 home runs and driving in just 44 runs before the All-Star break.

Breakout Performer: Heath Bell, Padres & Pablo Sandoval, Giants

It’s a tie between a couple of the NL West rivals. Bell has stepped into the closer role in San Diego, replacing all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman, and hasn’t missed a beat. The former Met leads the league with 23 saves while posting a 1.69 era and striking out more than a hitter per inning. Sandoval, meanwhile, has come out of nowhere hitting .333 while belting 15 homers and driving in 55 runs for offensively challenged San Francisco. The hefty third baseman’s big bat and stellar pitching have keyed the Giants’ surprise lead in the NL wild car race.

NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, Giants

Speaking of that San Francisco pitching, it would be hard to vote against last year’s Cy Young award winner so far this season. The young ace is 10-2 with a 2.33 era and a ridiculous 149 strikeouts in 127.2 innings pitched out by the bay. Is there any wonder why he was picked as the NL starter in the All-Star Game?

NL MVP: Albert Pujols, Cardinals

This couldn’t anymore obvious as the reigning NL MVP is on the verge of triple crown status. Actually, forget about the Triple Crown because, other than batting average where is currently ranked 4th, Pujols leads in every other offensive category known to man. Pujols’ first half reads like a career season for most major leaguers - .332, 32 HRs, 87 RBIs in only 90 games while leading the league in walks. There isn’t a better, more feared offensive player in the game today.

Sammy Sosa the Consummate Cheater: But at least he is consistent!!

Any Magic Left in Orlando?

Tonight is Game 5 of the NBA Finals and the Orlando Magic need a victory to take the series back to Los Angeles. The Magic choked away a chance to tie the series in Game 4 by blowing a five point lead in thirty seconds. The Lakers were able to steal the victory in overtime and take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

The Lakers were a Courtney Lee layup away from losing game 2 and should have lost Game 4, but instead find themselves one victory away from a championship. The Magic could just as easily be leading the series 3-1. Throw out Game 1 and Orlando has been the better team. Moreover, if it wasn't for Lee's missed layup at the buzzer in Game 2 and Derek Fisher's performance down the stretch in Game 4 everyone would be talking about how terrible Kobe Bryant has been in this Finals. Bryant was the who got burned by Lee in Game 2 only to be bailed out and he hasn't been able to buy a basket in the fourth quarter in either of the two games in Orlando. If the Magic win either of the games people would be questioning whether Kobe is pressing too much.

Do the Magic have any chance to comeback from a 3-1 deficit with two still to play in L.A.? Probably not. However, one could argue that the Magic should have won each of the last three and the series isn't over yet. Look for Bryant to really try and force the issue in Game 5 in an attempt to put Orlando away. For the Magic, they have to find a way to get Rashard Lewis going after two fairly quiet performances in Games 3 and 4.

Look for the Orlando to extend the series and bring the Magic back to Hollywood.

Beatdown in Beantown

Just when it looked like the Yankees were turning it around reality set in once again with a trip to Boston. With a 4-3 meltdown loss tonight at Fenway Park the Yankees have now lost all eight meetings with the Red Sox in 2009. This most recent three game series was highlighted by poor Yankees pitching, awful outfield play, and zero clutch hitting.

As has been the case against their arch rivals this season, the Yankees' starting staff let them down once again. In the first two games of the series, Yankee starters A.J. Burnett and Chien-Ming Wang combined to pitch 5.1 innings and give up 9 earned runs. Tonight, CC Sabathia cruised through the first seven innings and entered the eighth win a 3-1 lead. The Yankees' ace, however, ran out of gas in the eighth and left the game without recording an out in the inning. Alfrefo Aceves relieved Sabathia and couldn't bail him out. The final line for Sabathia: 7 IP, 4 ER, 123 pitches. This isn't the first time Yankees have been burned trying to milk Sabathia late in the game and it highlights a glaring issue.

Manager Joe Girardi doesn't have a reliable reliever to turn to not named Mariano Rivera. The Yankees overrated starting rotation, unreliable bullpen, and poor defense may be good enough to win against mediocre competition, but its a mirage. Against the elite squads, like Boston, the only thing the Pinstripes have proven is that they can't get the job done.

ESPN Continues to Alienate Fans

ESPN is at it again. The "Worldwide Leader," responsible for such mind numbing ideas like "Who's Now," on its website today is leading with an article assessing how Lebron James would perform in the NFL. The discussion features an article by Tim Graham and video from the "NFL Live" panel speculating on what would be Lebron's ideal position in the NFL. Seriously? Clearly, ESPN has too many analysts and writers on payroll who specialize in the NFL that have absolutely nothing to do right now. So ESPN decides to make its "talent" earn their paychecks by insulting the intelligence of the fans who flock to their network and website as it force feeds an utterly ridiculous discussion.

How would Lebron fare in the NFL? Who knows and Who Cares. Any savvy sports fan understands that the mere idea is unrealistic. Lebron James plays basketball and played all of two years of football back in high school. Projecting if he could play in the NFL based on that body of work is illogical and a complete waste of time. Surely, ESPN has something better to feature on the front page of its website. Apparently not.

Such foolish nonsense has become all too familiar at ESPN as the media giants constantly tries too hard to please both hardcore and casual sport fans at the same time. What they have actually managed to do over the last handful of years is alienate the passionate, knowledge sports fan by dumbing down their product and coverage with the nauseating self-promotion of its on-air talent and coddling of the sports figures they cover.

Maybe tomorrow ESPN could lead with a story on the prospects of Yao Ming playing wide receiver. Who would be able to cover Yao in the red zone?

After Celtics - Bulls, Now What?

Are the NBA Playoffs watchable going forward? It has been widely assumed, even before the playoffs began, that Lebron and Kobe will be meeting in the NBA Finals. So why would any basketball fan even watch? Then the Celtics - Bulls series happened. Critics can argue all day attempting to rate the series among the best of all-time. At the end of the day who cares where the series ranks. The bottom line is that the series captured people's attention and was the only first round playoff series worth watching. So now that the series is over and the Celtics have moved on, what does the NBA have to offer? None of the second round series have much intrigue and the Finals are more than a month away. The most competitive of the bunch again features the Celtics as they face the Orlando Magic.

Tonight was Game 1 in Boston and most viewers were probably watching Red Sox - Yankees especially after the Magic opened up a 28 point lead. That means most people missed the Celtics near comeback before falling 95-90. One major reason for the Celtics down performance was Ray Allen scoring only 9 points on 2-12 shooting. Anyone paying attention has noticed that the former UConn star is the key to the Celtics success. Lost in all the excitement of the first round was just how poor Paul Pierce played for Boston. As much as he did to win game 5, he did even more to lose game 6 against Chicago. Allen was unstoppable against the Bulls and is a much more efficient offensive player than Pierce. If the Celtics are going to continue their run without Kevin Garnett, Allen must continue to be their top offensive weapon. But in the end, will anybody be watching?

New Layout

New look. Same great Analysis.

Will the real Michigan State please stand up.. please stand up

By Be Nasty

Michigan State proved once again how pathetic of a team they are (as I correctly predicted by that way, scroll down). They were manhandled from the start of the game and North Carolina was toying with them the whole second half. This game reminds me of the Rose Bowl this year when Pete Carroll called off the dogs during the third quarter so his USC Trojans didn't thoroughly embarrass Penn State and its do-nothing coach.

I am so sick and tired of Big 11 teams being allowed to play for National Championships and giving us such boring games that I am assembling an army of lobbyists to descend on Washington to pass legislation banning any Big 11 team from competing in future championship games. To aid me in this endeavor I urge everyone of you who values sports to call your Senators and Representatives and tell them they need to vote for this bill as it is the only way to save us from this garbage produced on a yearly basis by the worst "BCS" conference in America.

Final Four-tune

More on the Final Four games from over the weekend coming soon. In the meantime, here is a conversation between G. Francis, BS CEO, and the Bleeding Sports GM, Mr. Be Nasty. Mr. Nasty was kind enough to share his thoughts and give a prediction on the outcome of tonight's National Championship game between North Carolina and Michigan State. It almost makes up for him not submitting a bracket for March Madness.

G. Francis: Do you think Michigan State has a chance tonight?

Be Nasty: Hell no.

G. Francis: UNC is favored by 7.5.

Be Nasty: UNC by 47.5 I HATE MICHIGAN STATE. THEY ARE NOT GOOD. THEY PLAY IN THE BIG 11.

So there you have it folks. The Spartans have no shot this evening. 60,000 rapid MSU fans packing Ford Field? Forget about it. A non-factor. The Spartans prowess on the boards against a poor rebounding UNC squad? Doesn't matter. UNC never misses anyhow.

Be Nasty has spoken. Take it to the bank. The North Carolina Tar Heels are the 2009 National Champions.

NCAA Tournament Predictions

The Bleeding Sports Brain Trust is ready to share their "expert" opinions on who will be crowned the 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball National Champion. On to the brackets...

Click on the brackets for optimal viewing.

J. Daniels - The Pickmeister
The self proclaimed "winning bracket"...

G. Francis - BS CEO

Mid Major Madness?

Could this be another big year for the mid-majors come NCAA tournament time? Discounting Gonzaga, who has shed their mid-major status, there has been very little conversation this season about any mid-major squads not named Davidson. The problem now is that Stephen Curry and company will be watching the big dance at home this year. While most prognosticators believe that the field is very top heavy, this year’s tournament feels like one that will have upsets aplenty.

The bottom line is that there just are not very many elite teams this year in college basketball. Sure, there is North Carolina, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Memphis, Duke, and Oklahoma at the very top of brackets. But compared to past years, even the elite teams this year are not up to par with the top seeds in past tournaments. The #1 overall seed in the tournament, Louisville, has losses to Western Kentucky, UNLV, and was blown out at Notre Dame. Every team is this tournament is vulnerable to an upset.

Once you start to look past the top seeds the field is even more wide open. How does someone differentiate between all those teams that were muddled together in the Big Ten, ACC, and SEC from some of teams from the mid-major conferences? The tournament selection committee filled most of the at-large bids with teams from the power conferences, but the mid-majors that are in tournament have a chance to make some noise this season. Here are three mid-majors that could cause the biggest stir on the road to the Final Four:

Siena

The Saints were one of the few mid-majors that received a lot of love from the selection committee. Thanks to tough out of conference schedule and a top 20 RPI, Siena was awarded a #9 seed in the Midwest region. Awaiting the Saints is a match-up with Ohio State in Dayton. Despite playing what is essentially a road game against a Big Ten squad, the Saints have the ability to pull the upset. Last year, as a #13 seed, the Saints spanked Vanderbilt in the first round and return all five starters from last year’s team. That experience combined with explosive perimeter players in Kenny Hasbrouck, Ronald Moore, and Edwin Ubiles will make the Saints a tough out. A potential second round match-up with Louisville would make for an exciting up and down the court affair Sunday night.

Cleveland State

The Vikings won at Syracuse earlier in the year on a last second heave and defeated a very good Butler team in their conference championship game to make the tournament. The squad is led by seniors guard Cedric Jackson, a former transfer from St. John’s, and forward J’Nathan Bullock. Their first round opponent, Wake Forest, have the potential to play at a very high level, but the Demon Deacons has been very inconsistent the second half of the season. If Cleveland State can keep the game at their tempo and slow down Wake, the Vikings have a good chance to pull of the upset in Miami. The winner of this game plays either Utah or Arizona in the second round. If the Vikings can get by Wake they have an excellent chance to make a surprise run into the Sweet 16.

Virginia Commonwealth

The VCU Rams are no strangers to making noise in the NCAA tournament. College basketball fans remember their upset of Duke in the first round of the 2007 tourney. The star guard who hit the jumper to win the game was a sophomore named Eric Maynor. Maynor is now a senior and one the best point guards in the country as he leads the Rams back into the NCAA tournament after VCU missed out last season. The Rams were upset in the CAA conference tournament after a dominant regular season and snubbed an at-large bid in 2008. This year, the Rams won both the regular season and conference tournament championship and Maynor brings some interior help with him to the tourney this time in sophomore sensation Larry Sanders. VCU looks poised to make a big run in the tournament this season before their rising star head coach, Anthony Grant, likely heads off to take the Virginia job. The Rams road won’t be easy with a first round match-up with UCLA and potential second round date with Villanova. Watching two of the nation’s best at the point, Maynor and UCLA’s Darren Collison, go at it will be one of the highlights of the first round.

Puerto Rico Shows USA Mercy (by Rule)

For the record, the World Baseball classis is a joke. The entire event is a glorified exhibition that most sports fans are not paying any attention to. Some the attention the WBC garnered and comparisons made this past week after the Netherlands eliminated the Dominican Republic was highly comical and not even worth debating. However, just to be clear, a competition where participants are allowed to choose what team they would like to play for, there are limitations put on how pitches a player can throw, puts runners on base if the game goes a certain amount of innings, and features a mercy rule cannot be cannot be taken seriously.

Getting back to the mercy rule for a second, apparently the big, bad, humungous United State of America played itty, bitty Puerto Rico sometime today, somewhere. This is like all the other states in the U.S. ganging up against and challenging Delaware to a game of baseball. Only, all the good baseball players would have had to reside in Delaware because Puerto Rico got the best of the U.S. today. In fact, Puerto Rico dismantled Team USA 11 - 1...in seven innings even though games in the WBC are in fact supposed to last nine innings.

That is correct, a country that is not even a real country, but a U.S. territory, beat down the entire United States so badly the game had to be stopped after seven innings. Team USA was mercy-ruled by a country that doesn't even have their own currency because they use the U.S. dollar. The game of baseball has forever been known as America's "National Pastime", a game invented, played, and beloved across the country for ages. In the present day, however, there aren't even enough quality players in the entire United States to compete with a country the size of Connecticut.

If whoever is responsible for the WBC is insistent on continuing with this nonsense in the future it would be in the best interest of the U.S. to upgrade the talent on their roster. In the interest of preserving United State's reputation as the home of baseball and avoid future embarrassment, it may be about time to officially make Puerto Rico the 51st state.

Conference Tourney Rundown

There is just too much great college basketball action taking place all at once. Here is a rundown of some of the biggest stories of the last 24 hours.


1. Florida State slays #1 North Carolina

The Seminoles are headed to their first ACC tournament championship game after downing the Tar Heels 73-70. Toney Douglas led the way for the Florida St. with 27 points as UNC again played without star point guard Ty Lawson. Trailing by one, Tyler Hansbrough turned the ball over while being tripled teamed leading to two FSU free throws. North Carolina got off two contested three pointers that didn’t fall and became the eighth #1 to be knocked off this season.

North Carolina will need a healthy Ty Lawson come next week in the NCAA tournament or they could be in trouble the first weekend. Meanwhile, Florida State’s Douglas is star who can take over a game on both ends. The rest of the Florida State team is huge and will create match up problems against opponents in the big dance. If FSU can find another scorer to complement Douglas they will find themselves playing into the second week of the NCAA.

2. Baylor surges into the Big 12 Final

Where has this Baylor team been all year? The Bears are in the Big 12 championship game after knocking off Texas last night. Baylor won its 20th game of the season in the process, but will need to win tonight in order to make a repeat trip to the big dance thanks to only winning five conference games during the regular season. It is hard to believe this Bears team lost seven straight conference games at one point after non-conference victories against the likes of tournament hopefuls Arizona State and Providence. Even Nebraska finished 8-8 in the Big 12 this season. The Bears can make up for it tonight and punch themselves a ticket to the tourney with a win against Missouri.

3. Syracuse wins in overtime…again

In yet another great Big East tournament game last night, the Orange upended West Virginia in overtime 74 – 69. West Virginia was able to make a late spurt to force the game into overtime after two free throws by freshmen Devin Ebanks. Syracuse, however, scored the first six points of overtime and their 2-3 zone defense stifled the Mountaineers offense in the extra period. The Cuse play Louisville, who blitzed Villanova in the second half of its semifinal game, for the Big East championship with a chance to cap one of the most unbelievable runs in conference tournament history.

Mad(ness) Links

There has been a flurry of action today from conference tournaments all across the country.

Here are some of the highlights from earlier...

1.North Carolina escaped against Virginia Tech thanks to a little help from the officials. Apparently Tyler Hansbrough isn't capable of committing a foul.

2. Kentucky's tournament hopes took a big hit as the Wildcats fell to LSU in the SEC tournament. Look out for the Tigers come tourney time.

3. In the Big Ten, both Michigan St and Ohio St were winners today and will meet tomorrow in the semis. Based on the history of the NCAA tournament selection committee there is no telling how many mediocre Big Ten squads will make the dance this year.

4. Back in the weak SEC, South Carolina was dropped by Mississippi St. Sounded like another bubble just burst.

5. Among the mid-majors, American wins the Patriot league and earns a tourney bid by defeating Holy Cross by 16.

Bleeding Sports' Inaugural Poll

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Be Nasty Update

By GM Be Nasty
Special to Bleeding Sports

I would also like to report that Be Nasty made it home safe and sound last night after walking home from the bar where he witnessed the UConn debacle. His 40-minute journey on the mean streets of Boston involved various expletive laden phone calls and probably woke up every person on Beacon Street. Be Nasty says Fenway Park is lucky that it didn't experience his wrath of destruction or that cesspool would have seen a very similar fate as this stadium.

Garden Epic

Connecticut and Syracuse have squared off in some classic Big East battles, but nothing like what was just witnessed in New York City. On the Madison Square Garden stage at the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament, the Orange outlasted the Huskies in six, count them, six overtimes. The basketball game took nearly five hours to play spanning over two different days. There was a near game winner at the end of regulation that was a tenth of a second too late. Two Hall of Fame coaches were attempting to get the better of the other for the billionth time. The 'Cuse never led in any of the first five overtimes yet managed to keep the game tied at the end of all of them. Eight players fouled out and when it was all said and done UConn ran out of gas first.

There were great performances all around and some gut-wrenching moments. Syracuse's Johnny Flynn and UConn's A.J. Price were both outstanding. Stanley Robinson played at another level and Ben Routins made clutch shots at the most crucial moments. Meanwhile, the Huskies couldn't make that one last free throw to put the game away. Paul Harris couldn't make a wide open lay up if his life depended on it, but made his free throws at the end.

Price carried the Huskies on his back through the overtime periods. He took all the big shots and made all the key plays while playing with four fouls since the final minutes of regulation. UConn couldn't get anywhere near the basket against the Syracuse 2-3 zone except on offensive rebounds. Once big man Hasheem Thabeet fouled out of the game Syracuse had a distinct average offensively.

UConn's one man show couldn't keep up in the sixth and final overtime period. Syracuse was able to score inside against the Huskies depleted front line. On the other end, UConn continued to live on the outside shot and when the jumpers stopped going down the final moments of a classic contest became anti-climatic. Everything else about the game was an unforgettable, unbelievable reminder of why we love sports.

Thank Kerr for the Sun-set

As the NBA regular season winds down, the once proud Phoenix Suns are in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. Fans in the desert can place the blame squarely on general manager Steve Kerr. Phoenix currently sits ninth in the top heavy Western Conference. After the top nine, there isn't a team out West sniffing any hope of making the playoffs. The problem for the Suns, however, is that only eight teams per conference make it into the league's second season. Phoenix will be hard pressed to sneak into the eighth spot with power forward Amare Stoudamire out the rest of the season with an eye injury. Even with a healthy Stoudamire, the Suns would of had an uphill battle because the franchise's problems began much earlier.

The Suns problems began when Robert Sarver took over ownership of the team in 2004. The saving grace at this point in time was that chairman Jerry Colangelo remained in charge of the franchise. This allowed Phoenix to sign Steve Nash and to ascend to one of the elite teams in the NBA under head coach Mike D'Antoni. D'Antoni's system and ':07 Seconds or Less' philosophy allowed players like Nash, Joe Johnson, Quinton Richardson, and Shawn Marion to flourish and turned Amare Stoudmire into an unstoppable force. In his four full seasons at the helm, D'Antoni churned out 232 regular season victories. This despite losing Stoudamire for the '05-'06 season and still guiding the Suns to the Western Conference Finals.

The Suns success during those years overshadowed the questionable moves being made behind the scenes. Despite still overseeing the franchise, Jerry Colangelo's hands were tied in improving the roster due to Robert Sarver's reluctance to add payroll. The Suns under Sarver have been notorious for essentially selling off first round draft picks for cash in order for Sarver to save a few bucks. Those discarded draft picks resulted in talented players like Luol Deng and Nate Robinson playing elsewhere in the league. In addition, Phoenix had to trade away both Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson due to financial considerations. The bottom line is that the Suns were always paper thin and missing one last piece that could get have put them over the top.

The downfall in Phoenix began when Jerry Colangelo left the franchise and Steve Kerr was hired as GM in 2007. Kerr and Sarver were longtime friends going back to college at Arizona, however, Kerr had no prior management experience. Kerr believed that the D'Antoni's style wasn't condusive to winning a championship and decided to turn the Suns into a more conventional team. The first step in this process was to trade for Shawn Marion for Shaquille O'Neal last season. The move immediately made Amare Stoudamire less effective inside with Shaq clogging up the paint and stifled the Suns' run and gun offense. The end result was a first round exit to the Spurs in the playoffs.

After the season, D'Antoni and the Suns parted ways as Kerr's actions made it clear than D'Antoni's style of play was no longer welcome under the new regime's watch. Kerr wanted to implement a more defensive oriented approach and hired Terry Porter as head coach. Suns fans know how that decision played out as the team never looked comfortable playing in Porter's system. Kerr's experiment lasted all of half a season before having to fire Porter and put the one assistant coach remaining from D'Antoni's staff, Alvin Gentry, at the helm of the team. Kerr and Porter couldn't produce the results on the court that D'Antoni did year after year and both the players and fans were frustrated. To say that Kerr's moves so far have been an utter failure is a huge understatement.

Kerr has felt compelled to allow the Suns to revert back to their old tricks for time being. Too little, too late. He comes out of this looking bad regardless of what the Suns do going forward. Kerr tried to force a culture onto a team that just didn't fit the personnel. The Suns had become highly successful and popular around the league playing their uptempo style. Kerr was convinced the Suns couldn't win the championship playing that way. By playing his way, Kerr has the Suns out of championship contention all together and back in the lottery. Maybe this time Mr. Sarver will feel compelled to actually keep that draft pick.

Bang for the Buck in NFL Free Agency

As the NFL off-season continues to roll along, free agency has generated vast buzz and fanfare. While Major League Baseball franchises - not named the Yankees - have pulled in the spending reins due to these trying economic conditions, NFL teams have been more than willing to spend in record amounts. Just another reason why baseball needs a salary cap. There have been some surprises like Terrell Owens being exiled from Dallas and winding in Buffalo of all places. There have also been some head scratching behavior like Arizona allowing franchise savior Kurt Warner to hit free agency before coming to their senses.

Then there are some things that never change or surprise like the Washington Redskins' drunken spending. The Redskins and owner Daniel Snyder have become notorious with overspending on veteran players. Does anyone remember Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders, or the purging of the New York Jets roster a few years ago? Well, looks like the 'Skins have somehow worked their way back under the cap, but certainly did not learn from their mistakes.

The Redskins wasted no time breaking the bank by shelling out $100 million to former Titans' defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Haynesworth has proved to be a dominate force on defense, but tossing that much money at a interior linemen is a risky proposition. The only position franchises should be throwing that type of money at is quarterback. Albert Haynesworth isn't carrying his team to victory week in and week out like Peyton Manning.

If Washington's spending had stopped there then maybe the decision to acquire one of the most dominant defensive players in the NFL could have been rationalized. Not surprisingly, however, the Redskins were only getting started following up the Haynesworth signing by handing CB DeAngelo Hall $55 million over six years. The Redskins obviously saw something in Hall during his short stint in Washington last season that the rest of the NFL had missed because no other NFL team was going to pay Hall that kind of money. Over the past two seasons, Hall has looked like a player on the decline rather than one worthy of another huge contract after proving to be a bust last season in Oakland.

So for those keeping track, Washington has committed $155 million to two defensive players. For good measure, Mr. Snyder and company decided to pay Bills castoff G Derrick Dockery $26.5 million over 5 years. The grand total for the three free agent signings - roughly a cool $182 million. Meanwhile, division rival and NFC East champions, the New York Giants were able to find value in free agency to help boost the team's defensive front seven. The Giants bolster their already strong defensive line with the signing of former Dallas DE Chris Canty and Seattle DT Rock Bernard. Canty received $42 million and Bernard $16 million while Atlanta free agent OLB Michael Boley signed for $25 million.

In total, the Giants committed $83 million to three key defensive additions, which is $20 million less than Washington gave Haynesworth alone and about half of what the Redskins spent on Haynesworth and Hall combined. This is just an example of how these division rivals couldn't be any different in how they build their respective teams. The Redskins tendency to spend has consistently made headlines, but hasn't translated to victories on the field. The Giants, on the other hand, have been able to find value in free agency and develop talent through the draft that helped them win the Super Bowl last year. The way things stand right now, the money is on the New York, not Washington, to be in Miami at the end of next season.

Stop Crying Paulus

By GM Be Nasty
Special to Bleeding Sports

Greg Paulus and the rest of those pathetic McDonald's All-Americans from Duke got slapped around again, this time by the Eagles from Boston College. The loss marks Duke's 4th in the highly overrated ACC. This league is not even in the same ballpark as the clearly dominate Big East. Someone should inform Joe Lunardi of this fact who declared this week that the ACC is the best conference in America. Mr. Bracketology who does nothing all day but fill out NCAA brackets quotes RPIs and strength of schedules as the basis of his argument. Too bad everyone knows that those figures are so flawed and basically meaningless. Wake up ESPN, the Big East is head and shoulders above every conference in the country and will prove it come March.

By the way. Paulus stop crying you little girl and learn to move your feet on defense. It was highly comical watching Tyrese Rice break your ankles every other time down the court.

Steel-ing the Super Bowl

It is about time to wrap up Bleeding Sport’s coverage of Super Bowl XLIII. Here are the five themes for this year’s big game:

1. High Drama

The Super Bowl had some lulls, but overall the game turned out to be a classic thanks to an unbelievable fourth quarter. The last fifteen minutes was all you could ask for in a championship game. First, the Cardinals remarkably stormed back to take the lead and then Big Ben made the plays to lead the Steelers to victory.

Ben Roethlisberger deserves a lot of credit for simply carrying the Steelers on his back and winning his second Super Bowl. With that said, Super Bowl XLIII will also be remembered as the Super Bowl with the most mysterious officiating in history. In particular, two pivotal calls or lack there tainted the game.

2. The Difference between Victory and Defeat

Super Bowl XLIII reinforced a common thought in the NFL of how games usually come down to one or two plays. This year, the NFL Championship was essentially determined by one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history that completely changed the game. The Cardinals had a first and goal at the Steelers’ 1 yard line with under one minute to play in the first half. If the Cardinals score they go into the half with a 14-10 lead and the ball to the start the second half after trailing 10-0 earlier in the game. All the momentum was with Arizona. That was until Kurt Warner’s pass for Anquan Boldin was thrown right into the gut of Steelers’ linebacker James Harrison. Harrison’s wild length of the field interception return will be one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history and also one of the most infamous.

3. Bad Officiating

The officiating in Super Bowl XLII was downright embarrassing – plain and simple. The Harrison interception return completely changed the complexion of the game and the play should have never resulted in a touchdown. First, it is debatable if Harrison even reaches the endzone on the play and while the play was reviewed it can be argued that he was down before the ball broke the goal line. While the Harrison play is debatable, it should have been a moot point. Harrison would have been knocked out of bounds at the Cardinals’ thirty yard by Arizona running back Tim Hightower if it wasn’t for an obvious illegal block in the back by the Steelers’ Lamar Woodley. Well, the foul was obvious to most everybody but the officials who failed throw a flag on the play allowing Harrison to score to change the face of the Super Bowl. Making the play more amazing was the fact that the officials threw a flag on almost every other play the rest of the game.


Not clipping, but you get the idea.


4. Big Players Making Big Plays

Despite the lousy officiating, there were some wonderful individual performances in this game. Kurt Warner dismantled the Steelers’ vaunted defense in the fourth quarter on his way to the second best passing performance in Super Bowl history. Amazingly, Warner has now played in three Super Bowls and has put up the top three passing yard performances in the game. Mr. Warner is on his way to the Hall of Fame. Lock it up. At the same time, Larry Fitzgerald introduced himself to the nation as the top offensive threat in football. Quiet all night, Fitzgerald exploded in the fourth quarter and his second touchdown left the Arizona Cardinals two and half minutes away from becoming World Champions.

The most impressive performance of the game, however, came from Ben Roethlisberger who avoided defenders and constant pressure all night to make the plays when the game was on the line with an assist from Santonio Holmes. Big Ben willed, carried, and dragged the rest of his teammates to victory. The Steelers had no running game and couldn’t convert in the red zone, but Roethlisberger was able to keep plays alive and make just enough of them to win the game.

5. More Bad Officiating

But the game wasn’t over just yet. After the Roethlisberger to Holmes connection gave Pittsburgh the lead, Arizona still had one last shot to steal the game. Only the Cardinals were robbed of that last prayer down field, but more inept officiating. On what became the Cardinals final offensive play of the game, Kurt Warner tried to buy time in the pocket before cocking his arm back for a heave toward the endzone. At that moment, the Steelers’ Lamar Woodley hit Warner’s arm, but the Cards’ QB was still able to bring his arm forward and football traveled five yards forward before it was recovered by a Pittsburgh defender. Looked like an incomplete pass, traveled like an incomplete pass, but ruled a fumble on the field. Surely, the play would be reviewed. Only the review never happened. Inexplicably, the Steelers’ offense was able to kneel on the ball to end the Super Bowl without a pivotal, highly questionable call on the field ever being reviewed!

The chain of events that transpired at the end of Super Bowl XLIII goes beyond explanation. The Warner fumble was clearly a questionable call and quit possibly the wrong call was made. Why did the upstairs official not rule that the play should be reviewed by the referee on the field? The NFL attempted to run some damage control the day after the game saying that the play was indeed reviewed and that the call on the field was correct. The question becomes when and how was the play reviewed? For a play to be under official review the upstairs official calls down to the head referee on the field. It is the responsibility of the referee on the field to then review the play from the replay booth on the sideline. This never happened. The play was never officially reviewed and the fact that this error happened in the biggest game of the year is intolerable. For some strange reason, however, nobody mentioned this after the game. For some reason, the entire incident was swept under the rug immediately. How such a blatant mistake could be made highly suspicious. Even more suspicious is how the five hundred analysts between NBC or ESPN all failed to question the ending of the contest.

One conspiracy theory for the reason the play wasn’t reviewed is due to a fifteen yard penalty called on Pittsburgh linebacker James Farrior. After the fumble recovery, Farrior removed his helmet on the field while celebrating. If the play had been reviewed and overturned, the Cardinals would of have the ball at the Pittsburgh 30 instead of the 45 due to the penalty making a throw in the endzone much easier. Imagine the controversy if Warner was somehow able to find Larry Fitzgerald one last time for the game winning score. Instead, football fans never had the opportunity to see Warner make that final heave and it’s a shame. For that reason, despite all the wonderful plays and moments, Super Bowl XLIII will forever have a black cloud hanging over it.

Super Bowl Pick'em

Welcome to the Bleeding Sports 2009 NFL Playoff Pick'em Finale! Sadly, this is the last Sunday with football until September. It's sickening just thinking about it. The NFL season just flies by way too fast. But don't worry sports fans, 72 weeks of NBA playoff basketball is just around the corner. Sigh. At least, we all have March Madness to look forward to. Before then, however, the Super Bowl needs to be played. So without further ado here are the Bleeding Sports Super Bowl picks from the CEO, G. Francis and The Pickmeister, J. Daniels.

G. Francis - BS CEO

Arizona (+6.5) over Pittsburgh

Super Sunday...Steelers and Cardinals for the World Championship. The fact that the Cardinals are playing in this game is a feat in itself. The bottom line is that Kurt Warner and the Cards are indeed here and I'm taking them to win this game outright. The Steelers have been in the national spotlight all season with seemingly everyone of their home games featured in the national 4pm slot on Sundays. The Steelers defense has been dominant this season, but they haven't faced an offense like the Cardinals. If the Cardinals offensive line can give Warner time, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin will cause fits in the Pittsburgh secondary. The fact that Arizona head coach Ken Wisenhunt and assistant Russ Grimm were on the Steelers staff just two years ago gives the Cardinals a distinct advantage. Arizona used that advantage to defeat Pittsburgh 21-14 last season.

On offense, the Cardinals know the Steelers defensive tendencies and will take the Steelers out of their base defense with Wisenhunt's three wide receiver offense. Though the one unit that has barely been mentioned at all and could have the biggest impact is the Cardinals defense. The Steelers are average at best on offense and the Cardinals have forced twelve turnovers in three games this postseason. The Cardinals do a great job at pressuring the quarterback and the Steelers' offensive is the weak link. If the Cardinals can stop the run they will tee off on Ben Roethlisberger and force him into turnovers.

I expect it to be a close game especially with the way the Steelers keep teams in the game with their style of play. I'm putting my money on Warner, Fitzgerald, and Boldin to pull this game out for Arizona. Keep an eye on Boldin and Breaston especially with the Steelers paying extra attention to Fitzgerald.

Cardinals 27, Pittsburgh 24


J. Daniels - The Pickmeister

Arizona (+6.5) over Pittsburgh

You hear it all the time (and saw it last year) that defense wins championship. Pittsburgh’s D is damn good, you can’t argue with that, but Arizona’s have been playing out of their mind throughout the whole playoffs and will no doubt carry the momentum into the Super Bowl. To add to that, Big Bum loves helping out the other teams defense and the Cards will thrive off his mistakes. You can’t give Warner and his two beasts of receivers any short field opportunities, but Ben is going to do just that. Look forward to seeing fumbles, interceptions, and of course sacks as the Arizona D rattles Roethlisberger. Take the Cardinals with the points. Actually take the Cardinals to be the Super Bowl XLIII champs with a 24-16 victory.

The Perfect Britt?

The Super Bowl has yet to be played, but beside the Cardinals and Steelers the rest of the NFL is already looking toward next year. With the college football season ending and underclassman having declared for the draft, wannabe GMs have begun to rant about the prospects they want for their franchise. Those silly mock drafts that every sports outlet loves to release are all ready available to rile fans with a false sense of excitement.

One of the most intriguing positions entering this year's draft is wide receiver. Texas Tech man beast Michael Crabtree has garnered most of the attention and with good reason. Crabtree has been a force on the college level and will almost certainly be a top 10 pick. The reality is that most teams drafting in the first round won't have a shot at Mr. Crabtree and after him is a deep pool of talented players. Some of the names that have been thrown out there as potential first round picks are Jeremy Macklin, Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks, and Darrius Heyward-Bey. Each of them are nice players, but there seems to one standout wide receiver being left out of the mix despite being arguably more physically gifted than anyone of others mentioned including Crabtree.

The most intriguing prospect at the wide receiver position in 2009 is Rutger's Kenny Britt. At 6 foot 4 and 220 pounds Britt possess excellent size and physicality at the position to go along with game breaking speed. He average nearly 20 yards a catch during his breakout sophomore season in 2007. Britt also comes from a pro-style, run oriented offense at Rutgers and was still able to put up fantastic numbers.

While Crabtree is a dominant player, he lacks top end speed while Macklin and Harvin possess great speed, but lack the size of a top flight NFL receiver. These players also benefited from playing in spread offenses in college and history shows that putting up big numbers in the spread does not translate to success at the next level. As for Nicks and Heyward-Bey both have had much less success at the college level, are smaller, and are not vertical threats like Kenny Britt. Britt has number one receiver written all over him while the same can't be said for any of the other prospects mentioned other than Crabtree. If your team is able to grab Britt at the end of the first round or early in the second, jump for joy because you will have a draft steal.

Come to think of it, there is an NFL franchise who plays in New Jersey and needs to replace their big, fast, physical number one receiver. Britt is also from New Jersey and stayed home to play his college ball. Wonder how he looks in Blue?

Down Goes Philly! Down goes Philly!

Great job Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb. Once again you showed your ineptitude in the playoffs. You proved that "You are what we thought you were".

Long live the Junior Varsity Bills!

1-4 in the NFC Championship game and 0-1 in the Super Bowl.

Keep puking in the huddle Donovan.

AFC Conference Championship Pick'em

G. Francis - BS CEO

PITTSBURGH (-6) over Baltimore

The Steelers have been tough at home all season. Last week, the offense woke up and took control against the Chargers in the second half. The Ravens benefited from some timely turnovers on defense and a blow call by the official on what should have been a delay of game penalty to keep a drive alive late. Baltimore was dominated last week by Tennessee and were fortunate to come away with the victory. At the end of the broadcast, announcer Dan Dierdorrf proclaimed that the Ravens were the team nobody wants to play. He is dead wrong because the Ravens are the team anyone would want to play right now. The defense is beat up and overrated while the offense is good for about 13 points. The Steelers end the Ravens season today and the game isn’t close. Take Pittsburgh.

J. Daniels - The Pickmeister

Baltimore (+6) over PITTSBURGH

Just like the other two times these teams met this year, this game is going to be a low scoring close game. Pittsburgh simply isn’t going to score enough to cover this spread. The game last week was a fluke and come Sunday we’ll see just how Big Bum plays against a real defense. The Ravens D has sacked Roethlisberger 8 time already this year and will be coming after him all game. And of course Ben will help them out by holding onto the ball for entirely too long. While its true Pittsburgh did win the two previously meetings, their margin of victory was only 7 points combined. And lets not forget the phantom touchdown that gave them the win in their last matchup. As the Giants showed us last year, beating a team three times one season is very difficult and the Ravens will prove that again this year. Take the Ravens with the points.

NFC Conference Championship Pick'em

Welcome to the NFL Conference Championship round of the 2009 Bleeding Sports Playoff Pick’em. Last week, both G. Francis and the Pickmeister, J. Daniels, have a rough time with the Divisional games going 1-3. Now onto the picks for the early game in the NFC…

Home team in CAPS.

G. Francis – B.S. CEO

ARIZONA (+3.5) over Philadelphia

The spread for the NFC Championship game opened with Philly favored by 4.5. It looks like some of the gamblers out there are joining me on the Cardinals bandwagon and with good reason. The Cardinals are a completely different team at home and will feed off the home crowd. The Eagles have been able to win so far in the postseason despite being one dimensional. It is obvious at this point that RB Brian Westbrook doesn’t have anything left. He’s hurt much worse than anyone wants to admit. This means Donovan McNabb will be asked to win the game and the thing the Cards defense does best in come after opposing quarterbacks. Kurt Warner gets a healthy Anquan Boldin to complement Larry Fitzgerald this week and that should lead to the Cardinals offense scoring enough points to not only cover, but win this one on their home field. Who would have thought we would ever see the Cardinals in the Super Bowl!


J. Daniels - The Pickmeister

ARIZONA (+3.5) over Philadelphia

Very rarely is the away team favored in the playoffs, and when it does happen I don’t know how anyone can justify not taking the home team with the points. Arizona is going to have a distinct home field advantage in this game. The roof is going to be closed to cater to the Cards passing game and to create the deafening noise level that the defense will feed off of. And let’s be honest here Philly’s lucky to be in this game. They’re coming off a game where they had a whopping 276 total yards of offense. Their rushing game is anemic and Westbrook looks 50% at best, but will still be on the field every down because the genius Andy Reid would much rather use him as a decoy than give the ball to Buckhalter. Arizona’s defense has forced 9 turnovers already in the playoffs and this game won’t be any different. The Cards want revenge for that Thanksgiving blow out and they going to get it Sunday. Take Arizona with the points.

Kevin Gilbride needs to go... he is the Tim Lewis of offensive coordinators!

By GM Be Nasty
Special to Bleeding Sports

The main reason why the Giants have pre-maturely exited the 2008 playoffs is because of the pathetic play calling of Kevin Gilbride. Here is a man who has watched Eli Manning for years and still doesn't understand the man CANNOT throw the ball into the wind. Gilbride refuses to acknowledge this fact and instead of utilizing the run he goes to the passing game time and time again. Just look at the Sunday night game against the Redskins last year when Eli threw the ball 52 times and the Giants lost to a team that was quarterbacked by Todd Collins.

You would think Gilbride would learn after he was thoroughly lambasted for that game plan, but unfortunately for Giants fans he didn't learn his lesson. In that same year he wanted to throw the ball all over the field in the rain, wind, and snow at Buffalo until he was bailed out by two long runs by Jacobs and Bradshaw. And then this year against the Eagles not once but twice Gilbride tried to get cute with his play calling. In week 14 against the Eagles he pulls the Mario Manningham reverse out of his hat to stall a drive in plus territory and continuely called for long passes from his quarterback.

Now on to yesterday's debacle:

Eli's first pass should have showed his bone headed coach that he was not able to control the ball on long passes especially to the outside. But no, he refused to pay attention AGAIN. Backed up on their own 13 yard line up by 3 Gilbride calls a play action two person passing route that calls for his immobile quarterback to roll out and throw a deep out to Hixon in the teeth of the wind that resulted in an INT returned to the Giants two yard line. The game plan heading into this drive should have been to chew up as much time as possible so the Eagles would not have the benefit of the wind any longer.

Now we come to 1st and 5 at the Eagles 21 with 1:55 left in the first half. The Eagles are on their heels and the Giants have moved the ball down field by running up the middle, but Gilbride channeling his inner Mike Martz decides this is the time to get innovative and comes out with 3 straight passing plays out of the shotgun formation. All the Giants had to do was run the ball once to get the clock going and Philadelphia would not have seen the ball again until the second half. Because of his putrid play calling he gave the Eagles the chance to score points at the end of the half and the possibility of them doubling up because they got the ball first in the second half.

Finally lets move to the 4th quarter with the Giants down 9 points and needing to score twice to win the game. The Giants get the ball with 14:56 left and Gilbride calls for 5 straight running plays which ended with Eli Manning's girlie attempt at a QB sneak on 4th and inches. The defense then holds the Eagles to a punt and the Giants get the ball back at the 11 yard line with 10:22 left in the game and down by 9. At this point I can only hold my breath thinking about what the genius will come up with on this drive and Gilbride doesn't fail to impress. The passing guru has now become conservative and calls for runs on 6 out of the next 7 plays ending with Jacbos being stuffed on 4th and 2 which sealed the Giants postseason fate.

So to recap. On the two most pivotal drives of the game when the Giants needed to score and save clock Gilbride decides to ball play control. The only explanation for this disgusting coaching performance is that Gilbride must have looked up at the scoreboard and thought that the Giants were winning 23-11.

I am sick and tired of this man and his indefensible moves. He hinders the Giants ability to win every week and these factors are magnified without the abilities of Plaxico Burress to bail out FlutterLI Manning on his deep throws.

NFL Playoff Pick'em - Sunday

G. Francis – BS CEO

NEW YORK (-4) over Philadelphia

The Giants have been the best team in professional football all season. The so-called experts seem believe that the Eagles have been the best team in the league down the stretch. These division rivals split their two meeting this season with each winning on the other team’s home field. Something has to give. In my opinion, what gives in this rubber match is the Eagles run defense. In their first meeting this season, the Giants ran for over two hundred yard against the Eagles undersized defense. Even in their loss to Philly a few weeks back the G-Men ran the ball fairly effectively before Brandon Jacobs went down in the third quarter. The Giants also uncharacteristically gave up big plays on defense and left plays on the field on offense. If Dominick Hixon does not drop a wide open touchdown pass in the first half it is an entirely different game. The Giants were also dealing with the fallout of the Plaxico Burress shooting incident.

This time around, all things are equal. The Giants don’t have any distractions or excuses and Eagles are coming into the meadowlands with a load of confidence. In January, it comes down to which team can do a better job protecting the football, running the ball, and stopping the run. The Giants have done all three this season much better than the Eagles. In addition, the Giants are at home and coming off a bye while the Eagles played a physical game last week that left RT John Runyan and star RB Brian Westbrook unable to practice all week. The Giants take this one by at least at touchdown.


San Diego (+6.5) over PITTSBURGH

The one team that may be on a bigger roll than Philadelphia is the San Diego SUPER-Chargers. The key to the Chargers turnaround has been a defense that has completely transformed itself since the firing of defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell and promotion of Ron Rivera. Last week, the Chargers virtually shutdown the league MVP Peyton Manning and the Colts’ vaunted offense. This week, the Chargers have to play on the road, but Big Ben and the Steelers have struggled all year to score points. For that reason, 6.5 points seems like a lot even with the game being played at Heinz Field. Everyone remembers that the Chargers went to Pittsburgh earlier this season and lost that wild one point game. The Pittsburgh defense dominated that game and they will need to do the same today for the Steelers to cover. The Chargers have been playing much better since that first meeting with the Steelers and this game will be close. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Chargers even find a way to pull it out. I’ll take the Chargers getting the points.


J.Daniels - The Pickmeister

NEW YORK (-4) over Philadelphia

Same story, different year. The Giants are the number one seed with home field advantage throughout and yet all I’ve been hearing for the last week is how damn good Philly is. Does anyone remember that this same undeserved hype was given to the Eagles at the start of season only to see them begin 5-5-1. But now that they won 5 of their last 6 everyone is comparing them to G-MEN of last year. However, theres one big difference. The Giants got no respect on their road to the becoming Super Bowl champs. There were no Sports Illustrated covers calling them “DANGEROUS”, no special interviews on Fox before the game, and no credit. As we saw a year ago, nothing fuels this Giants team more than the lack of respect. Look for Man-Bear-Beast Jacobs to plow over the 35 year old Dawkins on the Giants way to domination. Take the G-MEN to cover the spread.


San Diego (+6.5) over PITTSBURGH

6.5? Is that the line of this game or the number of turnovers Ben Roethlisberger is going to have? Honestly, the Steelers aren’t going to beat anyone by six points. If the Chargers get as a little as a safety, there’s no way Pittsburgh is covering this spread. The Steelers offense is almost non-existent and the only thing Big Bum is good at is holding the ball for three hours and then getting sacked. The bolts are going to win this game outright. Take San Diego with the points.

2009 NFL Playoff Pick’em

2009 NFL Playoff Pick’em

Welcome to year three of the Bleeding Sports annual NFL playoff pick’em. This year the competition between the Pickmeister, J. Daniels, and the BS CEO, G. Francis, is a best of seven. The battle begins this week with the divisional round. To start it off, we’ll look at the Saturday games. Let the fight for NFL spread picking bragging rights begin!

Home team in CAPS.

G. Francis – BS CEO

TENNESSEE (–3) over Baltimore

It seems that the public has fallen asleep on the Titans, which is only natural since they haven’t had much to play for since taking out Pittsburgh in Week 16. The Ravens meanwhile have been rolling and have had some high profile wins that have garnered them some added attention. Looking at the game realistically, the Ravens defense is solid, but the Titans defense has been better this season. Offensively, the Ravens are still starting a rookie QB in Joe Flacco with a mediocre running game while the Titans feature a seasoned QB in Kerry Collins and a strong running with Chris Johnson and LenDale White. It is also worth mentioning that the game is in Tennessee. The Ravens run ends today and while the game will be close Tennessee wins by more than a field goal.


Arizona (+10) over CAROLINA

Every prognosticator in world loves the Panthers in this game and with good reason. The Cardinals are awful on the road and there is a good chance the star WR Anquan Boldin will miss the game with a hamstring injury. However, to me, Carolina is overrated especially defensively. The weather may be a factor, but the Cardinals should still be able to move the ball just like they did when playing in Carolina earlier this season. The first meeting between these two teams was a close game and this game will be closer than all those experts out there believe.


J. Daniels – The Pickmeister

TENNESEE (-3) over Baltimore

Three points doesn’t seem enough here for to go with Baltimore. When these two teams met earlier this year Tennessee edged out the Ravens by, you guessed it, 3 points. But Tennessee is home this time and this is the Playoff. Kerry Collins wants revenge for his abysmal performance in the 2000 Super Bowl, and Joe Flacco will likely play worse than he did in the Wildcard round. Take TENNESEE to cover the spread.


Arizona (+10) over CAROLINA

Carolina WILL win this games, but its hard to not to take a team who’s getting 10 points in the playoff. Yes, Arizona can’t play on the road but I don’t think the weather in Charlotte will make a difference in this game. On he down side, Anquan Boldin most likely will not be playing, but Fitzgerald and Breaston should be able to pick up the slack enough to keep them within 10 points. Take Arizona with the points.

NFL Divisional Playoff Preview – Saturday

It’s the most wonderful weekend of the New Year. Four divisional playoff games over two days with plenty of snow here in the northeast giving football fans the added incentive to stay home and watch. Network execs at CBS and FOX are jumping for joy right now.

Here's a look at Saturday's divisional match ups.

Baltimore at Tennessee – 4:30pm

What we learned last week:

The Baltimore defense continues to make plays and force the opposition into mistakes. Last week in Miami, the Ravens forced five turnovers against a Dolphin team that gave the ball away only thirteen times during the entire regular season. On offense, the Ravens are below average, however, rookie QB Joe Flacco poses the threat of making plays down the field with is well above average arm.

What to expect this week:

Tennessee has been the class of the AFC all season and defeated Baltimore earlier this season in a tight game 13-10. The Titans have relied on their strong running game featuring star rookie Chris Johnson and bruiser LenDale White. In this match up, however, it may come down to which team can make the most plays in the passing game. The experience of Titans QB Kerry Collins gives him a distinct advantage over the rookie Flacco and he also has the added incentive of trying to exact some revenge on Ray Lewis and a Ravens’ defense that was dominant in their Super Bowl XXXV victory over Collins when he was a member of the Giants.

Arizona at Carolina – 8pm

What we learned last week:

The Cardinals defense came to play last week and shutdown Atlanta’s All-Pro running back Michael Turner. Offensively, the Cards did what they have done all year at home and made big plays in the passing game. They also did something they hadn’t done all year and that was run the football with success.

What to expect this week:

The Carolina running game has been the talk of town during the second half of the season. Arizona will try to make a commitment defensively to stuff Carolina two-headed monster of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart while remaining leery of WR Steve Smith on the outside. If the Cardinals can force Carolina to be one-dimensional they have a chance to force QB Jake Delhomme into mistakes. The Cardinals have been dreadful traveling east this season, however, their one quality road performance on the right coast came in their 27-23 loss at Carolina in a game they could have easily won. The Cardinals mood the ball with ease on that day and will have the chance to do the same this time against a suspect Carolina defense. The potential loss of Anquan Boldin is a huge one for Arizona, but this game may be closer than the expert predict.

Boston College Socks North Carolina

The #1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels have looked unbeatable on the hardwood this season. That was until this evening while in the midst of NFL playoff action the Powder Blues got beat down on their home court by Boston College. UNC had no answer for the Eagles backcourt of Tyrese Rice and Rakim Sanders who scored 25 and 22 points respectively. The Eagles led throughout and held on for an 85-78 victory. The BC shocker is easily the biggest upset of the college basketball season and comes in the same week as second ranked UConn's home loss to Georgetown. This means that when the new polls are released tomorrow Pittsburgh, who dominated Georgetown on Saturday, will likely become the top ranked team in the land.

Hats off to Boston College for pulling the upset on the road and showing the nation that the talent laden Tar Heels are indeed beatable...in the Dean Dome no less.