Bleeding Sports

Bleeding Links: Super Bowl Edition

2012-02-05T00:14:00.004-05:00

Super Bowl XLVI is less than 24 hours away. Stories upon stories on the Giants, Patriots, and Big Game have been feature this week leading up to tomorrow evening. Below are links to the some of the best content around web surrounding the NFL's signature event.

1. Giants.com gaffe prematurely crowns G-Men as Super Bowl XLVI champions

2. Patriots release WR Underwood on the eve of Super Bowl

3. Giants' ability to 'Finish' has them on cusp of Super season

4. Missy Modell music video for the 'The G-Men Are Back Again'

5. Not to be outdone, Pats fans exclaim 'I Wanna Gronk'

6. Eli letting his play change outside perceptions

7. Giants' DEs bring the pressure

8. The mysterious role of Belichick's right hand man, Ernie Adams

9. WFAN's Mike Francesa interviews Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin

10. Super Bowl XLVI match-up unlike any other history

Super Bowl XLVI Countdown Begins

2012-01-29T23:55:00.002-05:00

The highly anticipated NFL Pro Bowl was played tonight. For those who care, the AFC was victorious. Football fans now only have one game left on the schedule to look forward to. Hardcore fans who still want to see more football after tonight can look forward to some game called the "Super Bowl" that is now less than a week away.

Until then, everyone has the pleasure to enjoy an overabundance of mostly worthless media coverage that surrounds America's marque sporting event. Next Sunday can't come soon enough.

In the meantime, here is an excellent NFL Films highlight package from Showtime's Inside The NFL of the New York Giants victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.

Giant Run Propels Big Blue Back to Super Bowl

2012-01-26T11:31:00.008-05:00

The New York Football Giants went 9-7 during the 2012 regular season....and now the G-Men find themselves in the Super Bowl. The Giants struggled with consistency all season on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the team could never find a running game while defensively a propensity to give up big plays plagued them. Only the thing the Giants could rely on was the right arm of Eli Manning and his big play receivers coming from behind and pulling games out in the 4th quarter.

After a four game losing streak in November most observers expected the Giants to continue a seemingly yearly late season collapse and fade into oblivion. Instead, with Eli leading the charge the rest of his teammates finally caught up and put things together in the nick of time. The running game improved and defensively this unit looks like an entirely different squad than the one that showed up earlier in the season. The Giants entered the playoffs peaking at the right time. The end result has been another magical run that has resulted in second Super Bowl appearance in five seasons and a rematch with the Patriots.

More analysis to follow. In the meantime, checkout the highlights from the Giants' triumphs in Green Bay and San Fransisco.

Giants - 37, Packers - 20

Giants - 20, 49ers - 17

Giant Run Erases Talk of "Coughlin Collapse"

2012-01-13T22:43:00.002-05:00

Bleeding Sports resident General Manager Be Nasty has been a long time critic of New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and his coaching staff. Mr. Nasty like to make reference to the annual "Coughlin Collapse" where the Giants usually start the season off fast only to fall apart during the second half of the schedule.

Earlier in the season, the Bleeding Sports GM provided the below analysis to support his incessant clamoring for the franchise to making a coaching change.

NY Giants record under Coughlin - First half of season vs. second half:

2004 - Final record: 6-10
1st Half: 5-3
2nd Half: 1-7
* No playoffs

2005 - 11-5
6-2
5-3
* Lost to Panthers at home in Wild Card round of playoffs

2006 - 8-8
6-2
2-6
* Lost at Eagles in Wild Card game

2007 - 10-6
6-2
4-4
* Spags wins them the Super Bowl
(Notice no credit given to Coughlin)

2008 - 12-4
7-1
5-3
* Lost 3 out of last 4
* Lost to Eagles at home in Divisional round

2009 - 8-8
5-3
3-5
* Started 5-0 then lost 4 straight
* Pathetic losses to Saints, Chargers, Broncos, Panthers, and Vikings
* Charger game was a Coughlin time management blunder as usual
* No playoffs

2010 - 10-6
6-2
4-4
"You can kiss my a$$!" ~ Coughlin Collapse
* No playoffs

This season the after another strong start (6-2), the #NYG didn't fair much better going 3-5 in their last 8 contest. The difference this year is the Giants won the games they had to have down the stretch. New York won three of their last four games including the two wins against Dallas to overtake the Cowboys as NFC East champions. There were certainly reasons to once again doubt the passion of Coughlin's squad after a horrible home loss to Washington. For all their faults, however, the Giants were able to rediscover its vaunted pass rush led by monster Jason Pierre Paul and develop a component running game to complement Eli Manning, Victor Cruz and company on offense just in the nick of time.

Mr. Nasty makes some valid points, but fails to give Coughlin credit for leading the Giants to a Super Bowl championship against in '07 and division titles in 2005, 2008, and this season. The Super Bowl victory against the previously unbeaten, "greatest team ever" New England Patriots was historic and capped off the most remarkable playoff run in NFL history. Even the most passionate Coughlin haters would be hard pressed to label that season as a collapse and while the defense led the way it was a team effort led by its head coach.

As for the 2011 season, while not pretty, the Giants made the playoffs a division champions. Coach Coughlin has emphasized that its all about getting into the tournament and giving yourself a chance to win a championship. The Giants are playing their best football at the right time and how the team played two months ago is irrelevant. Right now the Giants have won 3 must-win games in a row and coming off their most complete performance of the season. There is no reason to believe the Giants can’t win come Sunday in Green Bay. If Tom Coughlin and his team can win its fourth straight game nobody will remember the Giants finished the regular season at 9-7. All the media and fans will be concerned with is how Big Blue would be just one game away from its second Super Bowl appearance of the Coughlin era.

Bye Bye Tom Bye Bye

2011-10-10T00:44:00.000-04:00

Get your trash together because Tom Coughlin is going to get canned

The Talented Mr. Hamilton

2010-06-23T20:43:00.012-04:00

Josh Hamilton started the 2010 Major League Baseball season slowly hitting for a decent average, but lacking in the power and run producing departments. The 2008 AL RBI leader had been overshadowed by new teammate Vladamir Guerrero and outfield buddy Nelson Cruz. All that has changed thanks to Hamilton's torrid June where the Texas slugger is batting .476 with 8 HRs and 26 RBIs to go along with a current 17 game hitting streak. This current exhibition has catapulted Hamilton back into spotlight among baseball followers and will now likely find himself once again starting in the outfield at the All-Star Game in Anaheim come July.

Make no mistake, Hamilton is the centerpiece of the Texas line-up and been the catalyst for the Rangers' current 9 game winning streak. After coming out of nowhere in 2008, Hamilton struggled through nagging injuries all of last season and again early on this year. His offensive outburst has silenced any naysayers who believed that his 2008 breakout season was a fluke. Hamilton's story is well documented, but still no less amazing. He continues to defy the odds and mesmerize fans with his all-around play. Despite everything he has battled through, the 29 year old Hamilton has performed at such a high level it is hard to argue against him as being one of the most gifted players in the game today. The financially strapped Rangers will need to rely on Hamilton to continue being one of the most dominant hitters at the plate if they hope to be playing in October.

St. Louis Should Deal Top Pick

2010-04-22T12:52:00.017-04:00

Jimmy Clausen > Sam Bradford. This is what Bleeding Sports believes.

Everyone else? The consensus from NFL GMs, coaches, scouts, water boys to "experts" in the media to draft prognosticators is that Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford is the top quarterback and will be the first selection in tonight's NFL Draft. Inspired by the slogan of one of America's "most innovative" companies, Enron, we must ASK WHY? Sure, Bradford threw for 50 TDs passes in 2008 while playing in perceived competitive Big 12 conference. A conference where gimmick offenses and the lack of any semblance of defense (except at Texas) has turned college football into some bizarre hybrid between the Arena League and pee-wee football where coaches stand on the field and spoon-feed instructions to the offense prior to the snap. Are there any quarterbacks playing in the Big 12 who have lacked successful in recent years. Guys like Chase Daniel, Todd Reesing, Zac Robinson, and whoever Texas Tech decides to put under center on a given day have shredded Big 12 defenses and posted mind-boggling statistics. Yet none of these quarterbacks are or project to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.

If it's not on-field production that has everyone so convinced that Bradford is the man, then what is it? His size and strong arm, ala JaMarcus Russell? Let's hope not. On the other hand, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen was the best quarterback in the nation in 2009 playing against tougher, more diverse competition overall while playing in a pro-style offense led by Charlie Weis. Clausen was successful despite being surrounded by a lack of talent most glaring was the pathetic offensive line that couldn't block anyone for three years. Clausen made big plays, consistently led the Irish from behind, and played nearly mistake free all year. His mechanics are flawless and his deep ball is insanely accurate. Compared to Bradford, draft analysts readily admit that Clausen is the more polished, NFL-ready of the two based on his experience in an offense that translates to NFL success and his ability to actually read a defense and call an audible at the line. These are vital tools that Bradford has no experience implementing from playing in the almighty Big 12. Is it weird that not one NFL starting quarterback today is a product of that conference? What are the odds that both Bradford and Texas' Colt McCoy end up having successful NFL careers?

Back to the issue at hand, is Bradford worthy of being the top quarterback let alone the top pick? A telling sign are the rumors that the Rams are looking to trade down in the draft. And they should. A compelling sales story for drafting Bradford over Clausen is mythical. The biggest knock on Clausen is his Hollywood ego and lack of leadership. Interesting criticism for someone who consistently rallied his team late in games, had his skill players stay with him in the summer so they could practice together, and has a three-time Super Bowl championship offensive coordinator who raves about his ability and character. Oh, and with Bradford, there is also that tinny, tiny issue concerning the fact that he barely sniffed the field last year due to a shoulder injury that required season ending surgery. He has looked healthy and thrown well during pre-draft workouts, but what is going to happen when somebody like Shaun Rogers drives him into the ground. It's tough to rely on a quarterback if he can't throw the football and game tape of Bradford post shoulder surgery doesn't exist to suggest he can sustain live action.

The Rams have the right idea by considering moving out of the top spot. Now they have to pull the trigger. Trade down with a team like Cleveland, collect some extra draft picks, and still get your franchise quarterback at the 7th spot. Regardless of how much everyone prefers Bradford, the difference between him and Clausen is minimal. The talk that Bradford will go first while Clausen could potentially be bypassed in the first round is insane. The value added by trading down and taking Clausen is much greater than sticking at the top spot and selecting Bradford. You're on the clock St. Louis. Time to put the onus on some other disillusioned franchise.

The Giants will pick Rolando McClain. Take it to the bank.

2010-04-16T13:22:00.008-04:00

By GM Be Nasty
Special to Bleeding Sports

2010 National Champs

2010-04-14T12:11:00.007-04:00

For the second time in three years the Boston College Eagles are bringing the Men's Division 1 hockey trophy back to Chestnut Hill. The BC Eagles were utterly dominate against two of the best teams in the country outscoring their opponents 12-1 on their way to their 4th National Championship. On Thursday night the Eagles throttled Miami (OH) the consensus number 1 team in country to the tune of 7-1. The defeat was Miami's 4th loss in 5 years to BC in the NCAA tournament and well deserved after Miami's hostoric choke job last year against Sucks to BU. In the final game last year Miami blew a 2 goal lead with minutes to play before letting in a fluke goal in overtime. Due to this performane the River Hawks should never be allowed to even sniff a NCAA Championship.

In the title game against Wisconsin BC proved that flannel, lumberjacks, and women with mustaches are no match for the speed and quickness of the Eagles. The game was tight through the first two periods with the Eagles maintaining a one goal lead until Cam Atkinson and friends blew the game open early in the third period. This win capped an unbelievable finish to BC's season with the team rolling off a 12-0-1 in its last 13 games. During this stretch the Eagles trailed for a combined 54 seconds of game time. A remarkable achievement that we probably won't witness ever again.

Once again we sent our crack anlayst Be Nasty to chronicle the Frozen Four and he provided us with these pictures taken with his work authorized blackberry.

By GM Be Nasty

Special to Bleeding Sports

That is just Kansas being Kansas

2010-03-24T20:54:00.004-04:00

Kansas going home early once again in the NCAA Tournament.

What else is new

By Be Nasty
Special to Bleeding Sports

AL First Half Awards

2009-07-19T19:46:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-16T12:23:00.005-04:00

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!!

2009-06-17T12:14:00.008-04:00

Any Magic Left in Orlando?

2009-06-14T19:36:00.006-04:00

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

2009-06-11T22:57:00.005-04:00

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

2009-05-26T15:07:00.008-04:00

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?

2009-05-05T00:00:00.005-04:00

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

2009-05-03T14:00:00.000-04:00

New look. Same great Analysis.

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

2009-04-06T23:56:00.005-04:00

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

2009-04-06T11:44:00.006-04:00

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

2009-03-19T11:43:00.022-04:00

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?

2009-03-19T11:05:00.008-04:00

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)

2009-03-15T00:31:00.016-04:00

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

2009-03-14T15:26:00.005-04:00

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

2009-03-13T18:52:00.010-04:00

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

2009-03-13T14:50:00.017-04:00

Be Nasty Update

2009-03-13T11:21:00.009-04:00

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

2009-03-13T02:27:00.008-04:00

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

2009-03-10T23:59:00.014-04:00

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

2009-03-10T21:06:00.004-04:00

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

2009-02-15T19:55:00.006-05:00

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

2009-02-12T16:43:00.008-05:00

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

2009-02-01T17:11:00.011-05:00

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?

2009-01-27T15:11:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-01-18T18:26:00.010-05:00

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

2009-01-18T18:21:00.002-05:00

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

2009-01-18T14:39:00.004-05:00

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!

2009-01-12T09:14:00.003-05:00

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

2009-01-11T12:08:00.004-05:00

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

2009-01-10T16:29:00.004-05:00

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

2009-01-10T16:08:00.001-05:00

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

2009-01-04T20:15:00.005-05:00

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.

Story of the Year

2008-10-03T15:09:00.004-04:00

The Major League Baseball postseason is now under way and there have already been some surprising. The Cub fans can tell people all about that. Barring a miracle by that North Side team, the best story in all of sports for this year has already been written. In 2007, The Tampa Bay Devil Rays finished with a 66-96 record making them the worst team in baseball. In 2008, the Tampa Bay Rays went 97-65 and won the toughest division in all of sports. In this day and age, the idea of a team other than the Yankees or Red Sox prevailing in the AL East seems almost unfathomable. Either New York or Boston had won every division title since 1997. It’s amazing what a little name change can do for a franchise. The Rays dropped the Devil and became baseball’s darlings. The prognosticators continued to doubt them waiting for manager Joe Madden’s young upstarts to fold. Only the Rays never did.

It had become almost a foregone conclusion that nobody in the AL East could compete the big market Yankees and Red Sox and their huge payrolls. The longest of long shots, the Rays had been a perennial piñata for the rest of league. What nobody noticed the last few years was that Tampa Bay was quietly rebuilding the franchise. It started three years ago with new ownership and management determined to change a losing climate. It continued with hiring Joe Madden as manager and spreading his play the game the right way approach throughout the organization. Most importantly, the Rays started to stock piling young talent. Baseball fans will be hearing the names Kazmir, Shields, Upton, Crawford, Garza, and Longoria for years to come.

If teams like the Marlins and Rockies haven’t already proved it, the days of spending big bucks on super star players in order to win are over. It just doesn’t work that way anymore. Teams must be able to build from within. Franchises from Pittsburgh to Kansas City to San Francisco have hope and more franchise will begin to follow the Tampa Bay blueprint. That blueprint involves speed, strong pitching, good defense, playing hard, and the concept of team. The Rays performance this season was no fluke and could very well end with a World Series championship this year. Baseball fans should be paying attention. The Rays’ division title was no small feat and it is only the start of things to come. Baseball’s next dynasty resides in Tampa Bay.

Beasts of the East

2008-08-29T10:58:00.011-04:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

The NFL season kicks off Thursday night when the Washington Redskins head to New York to take on the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. It's an early NFC East showdown and with that being the case, the Bleeding Sports NFL preview will being with a breakdown of the best division in all of football.

Washington Redskins

A late surge last year catapulted the Joe Gibbs and the 'Skins into the playoffs, but a lot has changed in Washington since then. Joe Gibbs retired...again the Daniel Synder nearly hired Jim Fassel...again before settling with Jim Zorn as the new head coach. Under the Zorn the Redskins with feature a new west coast offense and rely on the still unproven Jason Campbell to grow in the new system. Clinton Portis remains one of the most overrated running backs in league while the receiving corp is real thin.

While a Campbell led offense is a big question mark the defense is an even bigger one. Despite the addition of Jason Taylor expect the 'Skins to struggle trying to stop the opposition. Former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams did a great job with modest talent and his departure will prove to be the Washington's biggest loss. The unit's performance in the preseason against Carolina should raise a red flag. By the end of the year, Coach Zorn may be waving a white flag.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles have become a trendy pick this year to go as far as the Super Bowl. to Most prognosticators point to the fact that the Eagles managed to win their last three games last season to finish 8-8. That does not sound like much of an argument. Despite free agent acquisition Asante Samuel, Philly is a team on the decline not on the rise. The offense still lacks play makers at receiver and Donovan McNabb isn't getting any younger. The argument could be made that the Eagles have actually fared better without McNabb in the lineup over the last two years. The bottom line, Philadelphia is a Brian Westbrook injury away from a four win season and even with him the Eagles look like a team on the outside looking in at the playoffs.

Dallas Cowboys

Ah, America's Team. Here are some thoughts after watching Hard Knocks. Rookie tight end Martellus Bennett will be a bust with a capital B. It's still hard to tell after watching whether Wade Phillips knows what's he doing or not. He's like a cartoon character. Jason Garrett will be a head coach somewhere next season...probably in Big D. Terrell Owens actually comes off looking like a good guy. He's counseling the young players, practicing hard, and other than peddling his t-shirts is a relatively unassuming figure. Once the season starts though that the act won't last. The Cowboys have too many combustible parts between T.O., Tank Johnson, and the Pacman. The Cowboys haven't faced much adversity the last couple of seasons so something has to give. If Dallas ends up going as far as most people feel they will this season they will definitely earn it. Most likely, however, the Cowboys lack the type of team chemistry to persevere.

New York Giants

All the Giants did last year was take down the mighty Cowboys and Brett Favre in their own backyards just to get to the Super Bowl. Then all Big Blue did was defeat a New England team being compared to the greatest in NFL history. One would think that winning a World Championship the way the Giants did would earn a franchise some respect. Yet it has been just the opposite. All the talk going into this season has been about every team in the division other than the Super Bowl champs.

The Giants have had some significant losses on defense, most notably Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora on the defensive line. The line, however, still features Justin Tuck while the linebackers will on the outside this season with Danny Clark and Gerris Wilkerson replacing Reggie Torbor and Kawika Mitchell. The secondary lost Gibril Wilson, but drafted a star in the making in Kenny Phillips.

Offensively, the Giants return all 11 starters from the Super Bowl last season. The offensive line remains one of the most underrated units in the league while the Giants have three running backs that could rush for over one hundred yards in any game. QB Eli Manning proved in the postseason that he is one of the elite players at his position. It is only logically to believe that Eli will take another step forward this season and be a more consistent force. The Giants' young players all played a huge role in the team's success last season and will only be better this season.

The Giants put it all together at the right time last season and their momentum brought the franchise its third Super Bowl title. The team is young, still on the rise and motivated to prove the critics wrong. A division title shouldn't be out of the question in 2008.

Packers Fans Will Always Have the Memories

2008-08-15T21:23:00.011-04:00

Here is a truly classic video of Brett Favre's memorable debut in 1992 leading the Packers to a come from behind victory over Cincinnati. This footage is absolutely priceless. It's so intriguing and unbelievable that it should be on display in the Museum of Television and Radio. The video comes from the post game broadcast of NBC's old NFL Live telecast. In Studio we have Bob Costas flanked by guest host Buddy Ryan and the immortal O.J. Simpson! Does it get any better than that? Imagine if ole Buddy tried to sucker punch The Juice. Television viewers would have witnessed a live murder right on the set. If that isn't enough, the in-game announce team in Green Bay that day are none other than Jim Lampley and Ahmad Rashad. What a line-up. I'll take that starting five any day of the week.

Favre to the Jets

2008-08-07T01:13:00.004-04:00

Surprise, Surprise. The Brett Favre - Green Bay Packers saga has finally come to a close. Favre is headed to New York after being trade to the Jets for a conditional fourth round draft pick. In the end, all parties involved get what they wanted. The Packers are allowed to move on with Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback and keep Favre out of the division and off their schedule. Favre has an opportunity to continue his career for a team that has playoff hopes this season. Even the Minnesota Vikings will end up winners because the next shoe to drop will be QB Chad Pennington being released by the Jets. Looks like Brad Childress and company have will get their quarterback after all.

Here are the conditions of the trade:

If Favre plays 50 percent of the snaps for the Jets this season Green Bay will receive a third round draft pick instead of a fourth. If Favre plays 70 percent of the snaps and the Jets make the playoffs, the Packers receive a second round pick. Finally, if Favre plays 80 percent of the snaps and the Jets make the Super Bowl then the fourth round pick turns into a first round pick going from New York to Green Bay.

The Fate of Favre

2008-07-31T14:12:00.009-04:00

Brett Favre is continuing his quest on making the Packers' life a living hell by filing for reinstatement and is hell bent on showing up for training camp on Friday. The Packers are so afraid of Favre showing up that they reportedly offered him $20 million dollars to remain retired and it now looks like they are considering the possibility of trading Number 4 to the Vikings just to end this mess once and for all. It looks like this drama is about to set the stage for the final act.

In the meantime, fans wondering what it would look like to see Mr. Favre don the jersey of his rumored destinations can head on over to the EA Sports' Madden 09 website to get a glimpse of the retirement challenged quarterback in his possible new threads. The company behind the Madden curse has gone so far as to simulate the 2008 season with Favre behind center of the Jets, Vikings, Bears, and Buccaneers to compare how each team's success would differ versus their current QB situation. While putting any emphasis into the results is a complete waste of time, I will tell you that none of the squads end up even making it to Super Sunday. Of course, this simulation is a complete farce because it doesn't take into consideration the most likely fate for this year's Madden cover if he decides to return to the field...CAREER ENDING INJURY.

Favre Holding Packers Hostage

2008-07-13T19:34:00.010-04:00

It seems as though Brett Favre's retirement will be short lived. That is unless he decides to change his mind…again. For a man who makes so many split second decisions on the field he sure has a hard time making a definitive one off of it. The problem is that Number 4 simply can't make up his mind on what he wants to do. Ultimately, Favre is holding the Packers back and sabotaging his own career.

Two years ago, teammate Donald Driver thought it was a forgone conclusion that Favre was going to hang it up. He didn't. The Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft in order to groom him as Favre's heir apparent. Well, let the grooming continue...or maybe not. If Favre actually takes the field this year he won't be wearing the green and yellow.

Favre suddenly feels unwanted in Green Bay. Maybe it has something to do with the Vikings trying to coax him into playing in Minnesota this season. The Packers won’t let that happen, but are tired of Favre jerking them around on whether or not he wants to come back and play. At some point the Packers have to move forward and waiting on Favre every year only holds the organization back. Green Bay has made their intentions clear and Favre has conveniently used the Packer’s stance as an excuse to escape Titletown.

Apparently Mr. Favre hasn’t read up on the Madden curse. EA made a bold decision this year in deciding to put the retired Favre on the cover. Obviously, the decision was made in part to celebrate the career of the Packer great, but mostly to avoid destroying yet another star player’s season. If Favre were to come back and play for another franchise imagine the implications. In all likelihood we will witness the first ever Madden cover athlete to play for a different team than the one he is pictured in on the cover in the same season. There is no telling how this may turn out. By changing teams, Favre may have avoided the Madden curse all together and in turn will lead his new franchise to the Super Bowl. More likely, however, Favre is tempting fate and will be decimated by a career ending, catastrophic apocalypse of epic proportions. I don't even know what that means, but to put it simply...this will not end well.

Picturing Favre in a uniform other than that of the Packers is almost impossible. Favre says to let him worry about his legacy, but where is his loyalty? The Packers organization and the fans of Green Bay have treated Favre like an iconic figure. He is literally a folk hero in Green Bay yet has decided to turn his back on the entire community. Favre is willing to taint his legendary status simply because another franchise showed interest in him. It’s just another reminder of the disconnect that exists between the professional athlete and the fan. A fan would never turn his back on his team, but even the most beloved player in the history of a franchise doesn’t think twice about it. Well, maybe in Brett Favre’s case he does, but the end result is all too familiar.

Hamilton Has Finally Arrived

2008-05-04T23:53:00.009-04:00

Josh Hamilton is Major League Baseball's next superstar. Hamilton had become an afterthought to most baseball observers after being the first overall selection in the 1999 MLB Draft by Tampa Bay. Hamilton's talent was so immense he was mentioned in the same breathe as Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. He was destined to be baseball's next great star, but his fast track to the majors was derailed by drug addiction.

Hamilton's struggles to stay clean have been well documented and the Tampa Bay organization never gave up on him throughout his journey back. He was finally able to conquer his substance abuse problems in 2006 and has been clean ever since. Inexplicably, after sticking with Hamilton throughout his dark days, Tampa Bay left Hamilton unprotected in the Rule 5 draft where he was selected by the Chicago Cubs and then traded to Cincinnati. Hamilton flashed his potential in 2007 with the Reds despite battling injuries and being bounced around the line-up.

Hamilton was traded to Texas in the off-season for highly regarded prospect Edinson Volquez and both players have prospered in their new surroundings. Hamilton is the starting center fielder, firmly entrenched in the number three spot of the Rangers' line-up and exhibiting his elite natural ability at the plate. Baseball observers are now noticing Hamilton again as he was named American League Player of the Month. Hamilton batted .330 with 6 home runs and 32 RBIs during the first month of the season. As baseball tries to move past the "Steroid Era," there isn't a better story going than Josh Hamilton. Anyone who loves baseball should being rooting for Hamilton because his story is one deserving of more attention.

Boston College Wins College Hockey Championship

2008-04-15T12:28:00.004-04:00

We like to apologize for our lack of post-game coverage because Be Nasty decided to watch the game on campus while enjoying Sam Summer's, highlight parties, John Oates, and watching others play individual games of slap the bag.

Moving on:

After two straight years of disappointing performances in the National Championship game, BC proved that the Third Tynes a charm (thank you Lawrence Tynes) after they defeated Notre Dame 4-1 to reach the summit of NCAA hockey. Nathan Gerbe was a man on a mission against Notre Dame, scoring BC's first two goals and tallying assists on the other two. He took the team on his back during its National Championship run with an incredible 7-goal and 11-point performance.

Gerbe Records Hat Trick in 6-1 Win

2008-04-11T10:10:00.009-04:00

We here at Bleeding Sports pride ourselves on our analysis and full coverage of every top flight sporting event. Our very own correspondent Be Nasty took time off from his 18-hour a day Investment Banking gig to travel out to Denver and cover the NCAA hockey Frozen Four. Be Nasty even snapped a few photos to chronicle the shellacking that Nathan Gerbe and the boys from Boston College laid on those lumberjacks from North Dakota.

Who are the Chefs?

2008-04-09T14:47:00.002-04:00

This classic Snickers commercial popped into my head the other day for whatever reason. Great Googly Moogly, naturally the ad can be found on YouTube allowing Bleeding Sports to share with all our friends. I still get a kick out of it after all these years.

Kansas Breaks Through

2008-04-08T00:26:00.005-04:00

They were the worst of the #1 seeds and barely escaped the upset to Davidson in the Elite Eight. Now, they are the National Champions. College basketball fans had become accustomed to watching Kansas fail to live up to expectations and choke in the NCAA tournament. Can you say Bucknell or Bradley? But the Jayhawks silenced the doubters by reaching the Final Four and then blitzing a North Carolina squad that had looked invincible during the tournament.

The National Championship game went back and forth until Memphis and freshman star Derrick Rose took control. Facing a nine point deficit with two minutes to play, Kansas seemed destined to fall short yet again. It looked like just another disappointing ending to a season of high expectations for coach Bill Self and his team. Only this time, the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, Mario Chalmers, and his Kansas teammates decided to write a different ending.

Give an assist to Memphis. Despite his best efforts to diffuse talk of his team's struggles from the foul line, John Calipari's Tigers couldn't seal the deal from the charity stripe. Kansas rode their momentum and emotion into overtime exhibiting brilliant offensive execution and stifled Memphis on the defensive end. As the buzzer sounded, the result was one amazing Jayhawks comeback.

Kansas finally has their One Shining Moment.

The Lights Stay On

2008-04-06T22:51:00.004-04:00

from Gweeg
gweeg.blogspot.com

"Friday Night Lights" will return for a third season. NBC has struck a deal with DirectTV that calls for 13 new episodes that will begin airing in October exclusively on DirectTV. The deal between NBC and the satellite television provider allows for DirectTV to contribute to the "Friday Night Lights" production costs in exchange for the rights to air the show first. After the season airs on DirectTV, Friday Night Lights will return to NBC in January 2009. Kudos to NBC for thinking outside the box and keeping alive the critically acclaimed program. Far too often, quality programs with a loyal yet small fan base fall by the wayside. Let's hope that in the case of "Friday Night Lights" a new precedent has been set.

Duke Punk Hits Deck

2008-04-06T20:55:00.002-04:00

Here is one of Bleeding Sports favorite moments of the 2008 NCAA tournament. As the final seconds of his college career ticked away, Duke's resident cheap shot artist, Gerald Henderson, looked to take out his frustration on West Virginia's Cam Thoroughman...from behind. Only this time, the cowardly Mr. Henderson messed with the wrong guy. Thoroughman, the Mountaineers' third string small forward answered Henderson's final shot with one of his own. The result was little Gerald culminating his collegiate career with a seat on the deck.

And Then There Were Four

2008-04-05T11:08:00.006-04:00

Tonight, the men's basketball 2008 Final Four tips off from San Antonio. This is the first time in the history of the tournament all four number one seeds have reached the semifinal round. And while it may make for a competitive Final Four, it makes it extremely hard to pick a team to root. Unless someone is a fan of Memphis, UCLA, North Carolina, or Kansas nobody wants to root for a powerhouse. The NCAA tournament is at its best when there is an underdog for the fans to embrace and root for. If it wasn't for Stephen Curry and Davidson's run to the Elite Eight, this year's tournament would be easily forgettable. Too many games this year were noncompetitive and even that ones that had some mild drama ended with the top seeds moving on. What college basketball is left with is the top four teams all still playing. Where's the fun in that? Why even play a tournament? Anyone who follows college basketball could have picked this Final Four in November. Yawn.

So instead of analyzing the Final Four, here are Bleeding Sports top moments of the 2008 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Siena spanks Vanderbilt

Everyone and their mother picked this upset, which makes it even more amazing that it actually happened. What people didn't expect is how thoroughly dominant the mid-major Saints were against one of the best teams in the SEC. This game drove home the point of just how poor the SEC was this season. For Siena, a team whose loses only one senior and no starters, look for deeper NCAA tournament run in the years to come.

West Virginia sends Duke home

Duke continues to receive too much love from the tournament selection committee. The Blue Devils were given a gift number 2 seed and then backed it up by nearly losing in the first round to 15 seed Belmont. Well the Blue Devils had no such luck in round 2 as West Virgina continued their recent postseason success in a physically dominating fashion. The Mountaineers bullied the Dukies in the second half, exploiting the Blue Devil's weakness on the boards and reliance on the three point shot. Duke couldn't hit anything from the outside and West Virginia smacked Coach K's boys around on the court and in the post-game press conference.

Davidson slays Georgetown

This biggest upset of the tournament. Georgetown shot over sixty percent for the game and still found a way to lose. Turnovers and foul trouble hurt Georgetown, but not nearly as badly as Stephen Curry's riveting second half performance. After being held down by the Georgetown defense in the first half, Dell's son went wild in second half without an array of long jumpers and beautiful drives to basket. Curry carried Davidson on his back and did it against one of the best defensive teams in the country. One of the best individual performances in the history of the tournament.

Xavier escapes against West Virginia

The best game of the year's big dance was this Sweet Sixteen match up. The Musketeers jumped all over West Virgina early and opened up a sixteen point lead in this first half. However, the Mountaineers were able to cut the deficit to single digits before halftime and outplayed Xavier in the second half. However, Joe Alexander and company couldn't finish off the Musketeers in regulation and after taking an early six point lead in the overtime session, B.J. Raymond's two three pointers bailed out Xavier sending Bob Huggins and his Mountaineers home.

Super Giants

2008-04-03T20:39:00.003-04:00

Bleeding Sports has dropped the ball in staying current, however, to quote lyrics from a song by Three Days Grace, "It's not too late, it's never too late." This is why over the course of the coming weeks Bleeding Sports will be taking a look back at what has transpired in the world of sports over the last couple of months. Topping the list of sports headlines in 2008 is the New York Giants victory over the mighty New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Suddenly, special teams standout David Tyree is a household name. That's the power of sports on the world's biggest stage. Can you say Catch 42? Let's take a moment to celebrate football's newest folk hero.

Super Showdown

2008-02-03T17:59:00.000-05:00

It's the Patriots. It's the Giants. It's SUPER BOWL XLII! As John Travolta just told Ryan Seacrest (yea, you heard right) we have the NFL’s The Best Team vs. The Hottest Team. What we have here right now is our Bleeding Sports Super Bowl Pick'em. As this moment, the Bleeding Sports Brain Trust, G. Francis, and The PickMeister, J. Daniels are all tied up, which means the Super Bowl determine the 2008 Undisputed Bleeding Sports NFL Playoff Pick'em Champion of the World.

And away we go…

The PickMeister – J. Daniels

New York (+12) over New England

Another game for the Cheaters brings another ridiculous spread. When are people going to learn? As I said before the AFC Championship, New England hasn’t covered any of their insane spreads in weeks, including the whole playoffs. There is no way the Patriots beat the G-MEN by 12 points on Super Bowl Sunday, not even if Belichick filmed the Giants walkthrough. In fact, the Giants will win outright. In their week 17 meeting, New York fell short by only 3 points in a 38-35 defeat, despite having a 12 point lead going into the fourth quarter. That game proved to be a turning point for the G-MEN, who have been playing excellent ball since. They went on the road and beat three respectable opponents, including the two best teams in NFC. With the newly discovered weapon of Ahmad Bradshaw the G-MEN once again have a thunder and lighting duo ready to punish New England’s grandpa linebackers. I happened to watch the America’s Game of the 1990 Giants last night and couldn’t help but notice just how similar that team was with this year’s Giants. The ‘90 Giants clawed their way through the playoffs, avenging their regular season loses to the superior 49ers in the NFC Championship and the Bills in the Super Bowl. This year is no different. The G-MEN have avenged 3 of their six loses in their playoffs and are now looking for the 4th against a ‘far superior’ team. Coincidence? Not at all. GIANTS WIN! GIANTS WIN!

Giants 38, Patriots 35

The Bleeding Sports Brain Trust – G. Francis

The Patriots take a shot at history in Super Bowl XLII. The only thing standing in their way is the New York Football Giants. New York and Eli Manning got hot at the right time, taking the momentum from nearly ending the Pats’ perfection at the end of the regular season right into the playoffs. Nobody saw it coming, but the road warrior Giants blitzed through Tampa, made Dallas cry, and gave Green Bay the cold shoulder. The Giants made an impression arriving to Arizona decked out in black and will make an even bigger impression Sunday night leaving New England black and blue. The Giants proved they can hang with Tom Brady’s bunch and at Super Bowl they will do one better by pulling off the biggest upset in the history of sports. New York can move the football on offense, which will enable them to control the clock. On defense the G-Men need to put pressure on Brady and keep Randy Moss from making the big play. The Giants nearly pulled the upset last month and have only been playing better during their Cinderella run this postseason. The Patriots are the overwhelming favorite with good reason, but in the end Cheaters Never Win. Chalk one up for the Underdog.

Giants 37, Patriots 28

Here We Go Giants

2008-01-20T15:22:00.003-05:00

There might not be much to cheer about at Knick's games, but bravo to MSG for showing the Giants-Dallas playoff game on the big screens during timeouts last weekend. The fan reaction after the Romo interception to seal the Giants victory is absolutely priceless. A great moment in New York sports. There's no game at the Garden during the NFC Championship game tonight, but the New York is squarely behind the their team. Let's Go Giants.

Bleeding Sports Playoff Pick’em: Conference Championships

2008-01-20T15:04:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to the Bleeding Sports Playoff Pick’em pitting the Bleeding Sports Brain Trust – G. Francis against the PickMeister – J. Daniels. The current standing having the Brain Trust leading with a record of 5-3, but the PickMeister is still alive at 4-4. This weekend the nation will find out who will be playing on February 3rd in Glendale, AZ in a little game dubbed The Super Bowl. The weather outside maybe cold, but Bleeding Sports is just heating up. Enjoy the games.

And now to the picks…Enjoy the games boys and girls.

The Bleeding Sports Brain Trust – G. Francis

NEW ENGLAND (-14) over San Diego

Everyone and their mommas were expecting a Colts-Patriots rematch this weekend in Foxborough. The Chargers pulled the upset despite losing Tomlinson, Rivers, and Gates at certain points in the game. Rivers barely practiced this past week, Gates may not play after gutting it out last week and who knows how effective Tomlinson will be. The Chargers only hope is to consistently pressure Tom Brady with Merriman, Phillips and company and hope that the weather is a factor in the Patriots passing game. I would love to the see the upset, but the Chargers offensive stars are just too banged up and I don’t foresee Billy Volek leading the Chargers on another game winning drive. In addition, the San Diego secondary gave up over 400 yards to Peyton Manning and the Colts last week so I can’t think of a compelling argument to suggest that the Chargers will be able to stop Brady, Moss, Welker, Stallworth, Watson, Faulk, etc, etc. Look for the Pats to win big on their way to making history in Arizona.

New York Giants (+7.5) over GREEN BAY

Both the Giants and Packers impressed last weekend in their respective divisional round victories. On Sunday in Green Bay temperatures at kickoff are expected to be below zero, which, make no mistake, will have an effect on both teams. The weather could actually be a bigger disadvantage to Green Bay as Brett Favre will want to throw the ball down field especially to WR Greg Jennings. If the passing attacks are negated, the Giants have the advantage with the running back tandem of Jacobs and Bradshaw and will try to mix up their different running styles to keep the Packer defense off balance. The Giants have won nine in a row on the road and while all the prognosticators are picking Brett Favre to continue his storybook season into Super Sunday, I’m taking the Giants. The Giants have come together as a team and Eli Manning is playing his best football at exactly the time. The Giants will take care of the ball, stop Ryan Grant and head to the Super Bowl for a second crack at New England.

The PickMeister – J. Daniels

San Diego (+14) over NEW ENGLAND

The Patriots once again proved to be the luckiest team in NFL last week. Not in their win against the defenseless Jaguars but in the Bolts ridiculous upset in Indy. But if the Chargers showed anything last Sunday, it was that there backups, including Michael Turner, Billy Volek, and a bunch of no name tailbacks, have the potential to stay in a game. This will obviously be necessary with the status of Tomlinson, Rivers, and Gates all in question. Everybody, including myself, wanted to see the Colts – Patriots matchup this week, frankly because San Diego doesn’t have a chance, especially since their whole team is now injured. But the only thing more ridiculous than this matchup is the spread. The Cheaters haven’t covered any of their insane spreads in weeks, not to mention their 13.5 points last week against a far inferior opponent. Even without Rivers and possibly Gates, if LT plays like he said he will there’s no way the Patriots cover the 2 TD spread. Take San Diego with the points.

New York (+7.5) over GREEN GAY

-4 with the wind chill reaching -24. That’s the forecast for Sunday’s NFC Championship game. But if after listening to these “experts’ for the past week, you would think only the Giants will be battling the cold. “Will Eli and his receivers be able to connect in the cold”, “Can the Giants pass rush overcome the field conditions and get to Favre”, “Will New York’s defense be able to stop Ryan Grant and the Green Bay rushing attack?” Well I got news for these GENIUS “experts”. It’s going to be cold for EVERYONE. So the better questions will be: Will Favre be able to connect with his inexperienced receiving core against a Giants defense who are better against the pass? Can the Packers pass rush get to Eli even though they only had a measly 36 sacks during the year compared to the Giants 53? Will Green Bay’s defense, who give up more rushing yards per game than the G-Men, be able to stop the Giants superior rushing game? With these insane weather conditions, the game is ultimately going to comedown to whoever runs the ball more effectively. And since the Giants are clearly better at keeping the ball on the ground, they should come out of this game on top. “But Ryan Grant has the second most rushing yards in the last half of the season behind only LT!” Oh yea “experts”? Guess who has more team rushing yards the second half of the season. That’s right the G-Men. Take New York with the points.

NFL Divisional Playoff Picks - The Sunday Games

2008-01-14T15:41:00.000-05:00

Soooo, Bleeding Sports dropped the ball and failed to post the Sunday picks in our Playoff Pick'em competition. My apologies to the PickMeister who had his picks in on time. In the spirit of keeping the competition alive... here are the picks, which were indeed made before the outcomes of the Sunday games.

The PickMeister - J.Daniels

INDIANAPOLIS (-9) over San Diego

Nine points is a big spread considering the Chargers beat the Colts in their previous meeting. This time, however, there’s no Antonio Gates and don’t expect Peyton to throw another 6 interceptions. Sorry Cromartie. With Rivers being unreliable, the Chargers game plan looks to be simply pounding the ball with Tomlinson and 6 linemen. Indy’s much improved defense will surely be to ready for this strategy. With Harrison back in the lineup the Colts high-octane offense will roll past the Bolts with no problem. Take Indianapolis to cover the 9 point spread.

New York (+7.5) over DALLAS

With the exception of the first quarter, the G-Men looked great last week. Eli, for the second straight week, played very well controlling the Giants offense. In fact, of the 8 QBs that played last weekend Eli was the only one who didn’t turn the ball over. Go figure. And while Eli is shaking off the rust and getting focused, Romo is doing the opposite acting like it’s the offseason and relaxing in Mexico with Jessica Simpson. As far as T.O. goes, he’s not playing, he might be playing, and now he is playing. Either way, he won’t be 100%. And with Terry Glenn not having played a game in over a year, that only leaves Witten to catch Mr. Simpson’s balls. Too many distractions for the Cowboys. Take New York with the points.

The Bleeding Sports Brain Trust - G. Francis

INDIANAPOLIS (-9) over San Diego

New York (+7.5) over DALLAS

NFL Divisional Playoff Picks – The Saturday Games

2008-01-12T13:03:00.000-05:00

NFL Divisional Playoff Picks – The Saturday Games

After the Wildcard round it’s the same old story in the Bleeding Sports Playoff Pick’em. G. Francis was a perfect 4-0 on the first weekend of the 2008 playoffs while J. Daniel wallowed in mediocrity finishing 2-2. This weekend there are four more games and two glorious days of football as the divisional round is played. Here are the picks for the Saturday games.

Home Team in CAPS.

The Bleeding Sports Brain Trust - G. Francis

Seattle (+7.5) over GREEN BAY

I’m not a big fan of the Seahawks and the fact they are completely one dimensional on offense due to the lack of a running game should be a red flag especially when you’re playing in January…in Green Bay. Former league MVP Shaun Alexander is proving once again that in the NFL when a running back begins to go into decline it happens almost overnight. Alexander’s career has fallen faster than Britney Spears. However, last weekend Seattle showed the nation that they are pretty good on defense and can get after the quarterback. The Packers have Brett Favre, but other than Donald Driver the offensive talent around him is young and inexperienced which will play a roll in this game. The defenses for both teams will do enough to keep their teams close. Look for Seattle’s past playoff experience to be the deciding factor in enabling the ‘Hawks to squeeze out a close victory on the road.

NEW ENGLAND (-13) over Jacksonville

Everyone loved Jacksonville last weekend against the Steelers and with good reason, but the Jags near collapse showed that they are extremely vulnerable against a spread offense throwing the ball around the field. So what is going to happen in Foxborough against Tom Brady, Randy Moss and company? Do the Patriots even bother trying to run the ball in this game? Jacksonville will try to run the football and then try to run it some more. There is no doubt that Jacksonville can be successful pounding it at the Pat’s overrated defense, but at some point David Garrard is going to have to make some plays and put some points on the board and he won’t be able to make enough to hang with Mr. Brady. Look for Wes Welker to run wild over the middle and for the Patriots to score and score often.

The PickMeister - J. Daniel

Seattle (+7.5) over GREEN BAY

Lambeau is tough place to play in the playoffs no doubt about it. Although the Pack proved to be one of dominant teams in NFC this year going 13-3, I just don’t think they’re the Super Bowl winning Packers of the past. I am not convinced that Favre is any different from the 30 Int QB we saw two years ago. He will make mistakes that’ll keep the Hawks in the game. In the end I’m sure the Pack’s offense will pull out a victory, but I don’t think they will cover the ridiculous 7.5 point spread. Take Seattle with the points.

Jacksonville (+13) over NEW ENGLAND

Everyone thinks that the perfect* Patriots are going to murder the Jags this weekend. Sorry to burst your bubble Patriots fans but your oh so wonderful cheating season will come to an end Saturday night. That’s right, not only will the Jags beat the spread but they are going to win outright. New England’s defense is ranked 10th in the run, but would be considerably lower if their opponents weren’t always behind. Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew, and even David Garrard are going to run right over New England’s over-rated 40 year old linebacking core. Take Jacksonville with the points.

The NFL Playoffs are Here

2008-01-05T15:24:00.000-05:00

Bleeding Sports is back in business just in time for the 2008 NFL playoffs. What better way to get back in the swing of things than to kick start the 2nd annual NFL Playoff Pick’em between the Bleeding Sports Brain Trust and The PickMeister. Last year, the Brain Trust dominated the contest finishing with a stud record of 9-2 while the PickMeister limped through the postseason finishing under .500 at 5-6.

What history repear itself? Only time will tell. Stay with Bleeding Sports throughout the NFL playoffs and find who truly KNOWS THE SCORE. Enjoy the games.

2008 NFL Wildcard Playoff Picks

Home Team in CAPS

The PickMeister: J. Daniel

Alright NFL playoff time is back and so is our "Playoff Pick’em". Last year was bull****, the Bleeding Sports Brain Fool is a bigger cheater than Belichick. Luckily we took away his camera and gave him a suspension so he won’t be doing that anymore. Now here are the winning picks for the Wildcard Round.

Washington(+4) over SEATTLE

The Skins are on tear led by veteran QB2 Todd Collins. They’re 4-0 with Collins behind center, dominating their opponents, including the playoff bound New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys, by a combined margin of 52 points. While Seattle did put together a good season, finishing 10-6, it was unimpressive. The Hawks were only able to beat one team that finished over .500. Although Seattle can be a tough place to play with their ‘12th Man’, the Skins are just too hot right now. Take Washington with the points.

Jacksonville (Even) over PITTSBURGH

This game should be a no-brainer. Pittsburgh has been on a slide of late, losing 4 of their last 7, including a 22-29 defeat against, you guessed it, the Jacksonville Jaguars. In that game Taylor and Jones-Drew combined for a total of 216 yards rushing, which was only one less than Pittsburgh’s total yards. To make things worse the Steelers are without Willie Parker, who rushed for over 1300 yards this year. The Steelers should be no match for the 11-5 Jaguars. Take Jacksonville to win.

NY Giants (+2.5) over TAMPA BAY

The G-Men may be coming off their best game of the season in their loss to the Patriots. Eli Manning threw for over 250 yards and 4 TDs, showing some of his potential Giants fans haven’t seen since Week 1. If Eli can be consistent and play mistake free this Sunday, the Giants running game should bull over the Tampa D who are giving up over 100 yards rushing per game. Take New York with the points.

Tennessee (+9.5) over SAN DIEGO

The Chargers started the season slow but have been nearly unstoppable since Week 5, winning 10 of their last 12 games. The Titans, on the other hand, have quietly put together a decent season, going in 10-6 in the undoubtedly best division in the NFL. The 9.5 point spread is quite large considering the two went into overtime when they met 4 weeks ago. Although the Chargers will be at home this weekend, the Titans defense with Haynesworth in the game will be able to slow down LT and San Diego just enough to keep them from covering. Take Tennessee with the points.

The Bleeding Sports Brain Trust: G. Francis

Thank you, thank you. The champ is back fresh of dominating Mr. J. Daniel's fantasy football league and ready to embarass him for a second striaght year in our Bleeding Sports NFL Playoff Pick'em. On to the picks!

SEATTLE (-4) over Washington

Initially I wanted to go with Washington in this game. The Redskins have essentially been playing playoff games for the past 4 weeks and have the extra motivation of playing for fallen teammate Sean Taylor. Seattle has been flying under the radar most of the season as they once again cruised to a division title in the weak NFC West. The Seahawks have been fairly one-dimensional for most of season given the fact that Shaun Alexander’s performance has slipped so far so fast. With that being said, I would like to see Washington pull this game out and continue one of the more intriguing stories in the NFL this season. However, Washington has had to exert so much effort just to get into the postseason and between traveling cross country on a short week combined with the Seattle’s distinct home field advantage will be too much for Washington to overcome.

Jacksonville (Even) over PITTSBURGH

The line to this contest has since shifted with the Jags now favored on the road against a Steelers team that is historically tough to beat at home. When the Steelers choke at home in the playoffs it usually isn’t until the AFC Championship game. This season the Steelers won’t have to worry about that because they aren’t getting out of the first round. Jacksonville physically manhandled Pittsburgh in their first meeting and is playing as well as any team in the league. Look for another big night from both Jaguar running backs, Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. Meanwhile, the Steelers have been unimpressive and the loss of RB Willie Parker means the team must to rely on the likes of Najeh Davenport in the running game. Ultimately, Big Ben will be dropping back to pass more than to coach Mike Tomlin’s liking and the Steelers’ suspect offensive line will be their undoing.

NY Giants (+2.5) over TAMPA BAY

What approach is better for preparing your team for the playoffs: Resting your key players in the final week or playing your entire team even if the game is virtually meaningless? That question will be answered when the Giants and Buccaneers take the field on Sunday. Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden decided to rest seemingly all his starters in the regular season finale while the Giants went all out trying to prevent the Patriot’s from a perfect season in what turned out to be the most entertaining game of the entire NFL regular season. The key to this game is Giants’ QB Eli Manning who needs to play well and limit the mistakes and inconsistency that has plagued him all season. Tampa Bay’s defense will be aggressive and try to force Eli into mistakes which means the Giants’ must run the football successfully to take the pressure off the quarterback. Last week, New York proved that they can play with the elite in the NFL and if they perform at that level in Tampa they should win easily. For Tampa Bay, QB Jeff Garcia has barely played in the last month and while RB Ernest Graham has had a nice season, he isn’t a game breaker. On paper, the Giants are the better team and should play with a load of confidence after standing toe to toe with New England. The G-Men get over the first round hump and win outright.

SAN DIEGO (-9.5) over Tennessee

I would have really liked to see Cleveland in this game because Tennessee is tough to watch and it could get ugly in a hurry on Sunday in San Diego. The Titans are banged up. Starting tight End Bo Scaife and WR Roydell Williams are both on the shelf while QB Vince Young is a game-time decision. However, the reason the Titans are in the playoffs has little to do with Young and offense and a lot to do with a stout defense which will have their hands full with Tomlinson, Gates and company. The Chargers turned their season around after a 1-3 start and are still one of the most talented teams in the league on both sides of the ball. The Chargers are +24 in turnover differential while Titan’s are inexperienced on offense and feature fumble prone RB LenDale White. This was a close game when these two teams played a few weeks ago, but don’t expect Tennessee to keep pace on the scoreboard this time around. The Chargers have something to prove after a couple of past playoff disasters so look for the San Diego to win and win big.

Jimmy Kimmel Misses Joe Theismann

2007-10-18T09:23:00.001-04:00

While watching the Giants - Falcons game on Monday Night Football this past week viewers were treated to the comedy of one Jimmy Kimmel. The late night talk show host on ESPN sister network ABC just couldn't help but mention former MNF analyst Joe Theismann on more than one occasion.

More hilarious than his actual remarks is the dead silence reaction from the MNF trio of Tirico, Jaworski, and Kornheiser. The Worldwide Leader has now apparently banned Kimmel from the Monday Night Football booth. ESPN should take that one step further and ban every "celebrity" from the booth and stop turning MNF into a variety show. The trend these days is to turn sports broadcasts into entertainment spectacles in order to attract the casual television viewer. The problem is that this technique alienates the core audince of true sports fans who are tuning in to watch a sporting event and not a sideshow. So ESPN, how about just sticking to football? I mean does any football fan really want to hear from Christian Slater in the middle of a NFL game?

Yankees vs. Cleveland 6:37

2007-10-04T12:41:00.000-04:00

Let's GO Chinnie Chinnie Wang Wang

Hop Aboard the NFL Quarterback Carousel

2007-09-11T18:35:00.000-04:00

One week in the books of the 2007 NFL season and the quarterback carousel is already in full operation mode. As many as five teams will have a different signal caller starting in Week 2 than who started in the first game of the year. The overriding theme for all but one of these clubs is an injury to the starter as just one game, which further magnifies the battle of attrition that is the NFL. Here a look at who’s in and who’s out behind center in Week 2.

NY Giants
Week 1 Starter: Eli Manning
Probable Week 2 Starter: Jared Lorenzen
Scratch That: Manning to start vs. Packers
Rule number #19 – Never listen to ESPN. If you believed their constant report on Manning’s injured shoulder you would have thought Eli’s arm was about to fall off and his season was over. Well, news out of New York this morning is that Manning will start Big Blue’s home opener against Green Bay. Don’t expect Chris Mortensen to be in attendance.

NY Jets
Week 1 Starter: Chad Pennington
Probable Week 2 Starter: Kellen Clemens
Sounds like all the classless J-E-T-S fans will get their wish and see Kellen Clemens under center come Sunday. Mr. Clemens will try to follow such legendary names as Smith, Feeley, and Harrington in the storied lineage of Oregon quarterbacks in the NFL. Be careful what you wish for.

Cleveland Browns
Week 1 Starter: Charlie Frye
Expected Week 2 Starter: Derek Anderson
Projected Week 5 Starter: Brady Quinn
Started season opener, traded before the second game - Charlie Frye never stood a chance. The Browns traded their former starting quarterback to Seattle for a sixth round draft pick. After beating backup Derek Anderson in the preseason for the job, Frye couldn't even make it out of the first half Sunday against the Steelers and couldn't even make it to the second game with the Browns. Now Anderson gets to keep the seat warm for Mr. Brady Quinn. With Cleveland going nowhere again the question is, what are the Browns waiting for?

Oakland Raiders
Week 1 Starter: Josh McCown
Probable Week 2 Starter: Daunte Culpepper
Projected Not to See the Field this Season: JaMarcus Russell
McCown put up solid numbers though for the Raider any positive yardage at all offensively would be giant step forward compared to last season.

Baltimore Ravens
Week 1 Starter: Steve McNair
Possible Week 2 Starter: Kyle Boller
Ole Air McNair had a nightmare of a game against the Bengals last Monday night and topped it off with a groin injury. Boller stepped in and nearly led Baltimore to victory. McNair’s status for this Sunday in up in the air, but while coach Brian Billick may feel more comfortable with McNair, it’s clear the veteran doesn’t have much left in the tank and Boller may be the better option at this point.

Causalities Aplenty After Week 1 in NFL

2007-09-11T11:05:00.000-04:00

The first weekend of the NFL season acted as a reminder of just how violent and dangerous the game of football can be. At this point, 6 players are confirmed to out for the rest of the season and that number is likely to increase later in the week. That number does not include the horrific life-threatening spinal cord injury suffered by Bills tight end Kevin Everett while making a special teams tackle on the second half kickoff against the Broncos. Bleeding Sports sends our thoughts and best wishes to Kevin Everett and his family. The play is a haunting reminder of just how brutal and unfair life and a simply game can be. While these athletes sometimes seem larger than life us fans who cheer them on, Everett's injury is a haunting reminder that these gridiron warriors are still human and that the game of football can be tragically unforgiving.

The brutality of the game was magnified after just one week of action in the NFL. Here is a rundown of players who suffered injuries during the NFL's kickoff weekend:

(Players who suffered season-ending injuries in italics)

AFC

LB Ray Lewis, Baltimore - Triceps
QB Steve McNair, Baltimore - Groin
KR B.J. Sams, Baltimore – Knee
OT Jonathan Ogden - Toe

TE Daniel Wilcox, Baltimore – Ankle
DS Ko Simpson, Buffalo - Ankle
CB Jason Webster, Buffalo - Forearm
DS Coy Wire, Buffalo – Knee
PK Shayne Graham, Cincinnati – Hip
DS Jason Simmons, Houston - Knee
PK Josh Scobee, Jacksonville – Knee
OG Chris Naeole, Jacksonville – Knee
WR Eddie Kennison, Kansas City – Hamstring
DS Yeremiah Bell, Miami – Achilles
QB Chad Pennington, NY Jets - Ankle

NFC

OC Al Johnson, Arizona - Knee
DS Mike Brown, Chicago - Knee/ACL
DT Dustin Dvoracek, Chicago - Knee/ACL
DT Jason Ferguson, Dallas - Elbow
RB T.J. Duckett, Detroit – Ankle
CB Al Harris, Green Bay – Elbow
FB Tony Richardson, Minnesota – Forearm
RB Chester Taylor, Minnesota – Oblique
CB Kevin Dockery, NY Giants - Ankle
RB Brandon Jacobs, NY Giants - Knee/MCL
QB Eli Manning, NY Giants – Shoulder
DE Osi Umenyiora, NY Giants – Knee
CB Lito Sheppard, Philadelphia – Knee
WR D.J. Hackett, Seattle – Ankle
CB Brian Kelly, Seattle – Groin
OT Orlando Pace, St. Louis – Shoulder
LB Pisa Tinoisamoa, St. Louis – Ankle
DS Vernon Fox, Washington – Groin
DS Pierson Prioleau, Washington – Hamstring

Fantasy Football Frenzy

2007-09-05T10:01:00.000-04:00

In preparation for the start of the 2007 NFL regular season I've put together a list of players that may fly under the radar during your fantasy draft, but have the potential to put up big numbers this season. See if you can grab any of these sleepers in the later rounds.

The Sleeper Team

QB - Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay

When in the right situation Garcia has shown the ability to put up great numbers. San Francisco and Philadelphia were the right situations for him. Cleveland and Detroit - not so much. Playing in Jon Gruden's west coast scheme down in Tampa is the right situation for Garcia and his stats will show it come end of the year.

RB - Brandon Jacobs, NY Giants

Would seem like an obvious with Tiki Barber retired and with the Giants having a huge void at running back. However, it seems that Jacobs is still being undervalued because his sheer size is almost being viewed by some as a detriment. What people fail to realize because of his size is that Jacobs possesses great speed and is a solid pass catcher. Expect him to get the bulk of the carries and be in there on third down rather than share time with Rueben Droughns.

RB - Brandon Jackson, Green Bay

Something tells me that Vernand Morency is not the answer at running back for the Packers. If that proves to be the case Jackson is the man in Green Bay. The rookie possesses the explosiveness the Packers are looking for to replace Ahman Green and should turn into the workhorse in the Pack's backfield for years to come.

WR - Maurice Stovall, Tampa Bay

At some point Joey Galloway is going to slow down, right? Stovall is slated to start opposite Galloway for the Bucs and Jeff Garcia will likely find the speedy 6-5 Stovall an appealing target. Stovall possesses excellent leaping ability to go along with his height, which will come in handy on those jump ball fade passes tossed in the end zone.

WR - Vincent Jackson, San Diego

As the Bleeding Sports GM exclaimed "somebody needs to catch the ball." Sounds like Vincent Jackson is that somebody on the Chargers receiving core who will step up to take some pressure off of Philip Rivers and give him an option other than Gates and Tomlinson in the passing game.

TE - Eric Johnson, New Orleans

When healthy Johnson can rack up catches and yards. Just a few years back he was leading all NFL tight ends in receptions before an injury forced him to miss the rest of the season. While overshadowed in San Francisco due to the addition of Vernon Davis, Johnson should be a nice complement on the Saints high-powered offense giving Drew Brees another weapon in the middle of the field.

K - Neil Rackers, Arizona

Rackers had a monster 2005 season only to come back down to earth in 2006. Expect him to bounce back and perform somewhere in between '05 and '06 this season with the improving Cardinals offense giving him more opportunities to succeed.

Defense - Houston Texans

This may be going out on a limb, but the Oakland defense is too obvious of a choice since they finished in the top 5 in total defense last season. The Texans feature some intriguing players on the defensive side of the ball. 2006 Defensive Rookie of the Year, DeMeco Ryans, is a tackling machine, Dunta Robinson is a shutdown type cornerback, the addition of Michael Boulware should help bolster the safety position and then there is that other guy the Texans drafted in the first round last year, defensive end Mario Williams, who should become more of a force as a pass rusher in year 2.

Handing Out MLB Trade Deadline Awards

2007-08-01T12:03:00.000-04:00

Give Them the Strap

Whether the addition of Mark Teixeira translates to more wins on the field and yet another NL East championship for the Braves remains to be seen, but Atlanta does win the title of 2007 MLB Trade Deadline Champions of the World. General Manager John Schuerholz was not only able to finagle Teixeira and left handed reliever Ron Mahay out of Texas, but in addition he landed former Mets Octavio Dotel from Kansas City and lefty reliever Royce Ring from San Diego. Not bad for a day’s work. An added incentive is the possibility of Dotel and Ring coming back to haunt their former club from Queens as the teams battle it out for the division crown.

Can't Figure it Out

The Pirates win the award for Most - umm - Surprising Move at the Trade Deadline by acquiring pitcher Matt Morris from San Francisco. One could only assume that Pittsburgh feels a veteran presence is needed to solidify its young starting rotation going into next season since this year is already over for the Pirates. To say that the move is questionable would be an understatement, however, it isn’t the first move by GM Dave Littlefield that makes you scratch your head. Year after year the Pirates roster is a mish mash of young players and patchwork veterans of marginal ability and a clear direction for the franchise never seems to be established. It’s difficult to tell what the Pirates are trying to do and as the years of residing in the bottom of the standings continue to mount it becomes clear that the front office doesn’t have any idea either.

Most Ludicrous Trade Analysis - Ever.

The Yankees sent Scott Proctor to the Dodgers in exhange for Wilson Betemit. All fine and good, but someone needs to explain to me how so-called “baseball experts” could agree with the following rationale:

Yankees trade for Wilson Betemit as a possible replacement for Alex Rodriguez next season.

Yea, and Atlanta traded for Mark Teixeira as an insurance policy at first base in case Julio Franco decides to hang them up after this season. Betemit couldn’t even hold down the third base job this season for the offensively inept Dodgers, therefore, something tells me he may not be the Yankees long term answer. Betemit is hitting .231 this season and in his 372 game career he’s batted an underwhelming .263 with 32 homers and 102 RBIs. Some may argue that he's still green and need time to develop. The only problem with that argument is that nobody know how hold the guy is. Some reports say he’s 25, others state that he’s 26, his ESPN.com player page says he’s 27, while his profile on MLB.com says he won't be 26 until November. All this means is that in reality he's probably atleast 30 years old. Can somebody say career utility man? I would bet the house that there is a greater chance of Miguel Cabrera or Scott Brosius playing third base in the Bronx next season than there is of finding Wilson Betemit out there.

Vick Can’t Get Away This Time

2007-07-31T00:47:00.000-04:00

Michael Vick has made a career out of his ability to run away from defenders, which is especially important when you play quarterback yet are completely inept when he comes to hitting an open receiver. Vick not only has had an uncanny ability to elude defenders on the field, but to also dodge controversy off the field. Well, it looks like the most overrated player in NFL history is about to run out of gas. On Monday, one of Vick’s co-defendants pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges and has agreed to cooperate with the government’s case against Vick.

Vick’s talent is undeniable, however, for the last two and a half years the former Virginia Tech star has made more noise for his transgressions off the field. The federal indictment is just the latest in a timeline of regression that includes the Ron Mexico scandal, flipping the bird to the home crowd, and the water bottle fiasco.

Even prior to the dogfighting indictment, Vick’s status in Atlanta had become tenuous at best. Stories began swirling at the end of last season questioning whether Vick or popular back-up Matt Schaub should be the Falcons’ quarterback. After the hiring of Bobby Petrino as head coach, speculation was that Vick’s suddenly checkered reputation and ineffectiveness throwing the football made him a poor fit in the new regime’s offensive system. Instead, Petrino proclaimed Vick as his starter and Schaub was shipped to Houston.

While there is a degree of irony in that the Falcons could have desperately used Schaub, in essence, this season was one of transition in Atlanta. Even with either Vick or Schaub under center, the Falcons were not ready to contend for the playoffs this season. The rebuilding process is now in full force with a first year coach, making the transition from the college game, handing over the reigns of the franchise, at least for the immediate time, to Joey Harrington.

The absence of Vick may be a blessing in disguise. Vick was no longer considered the franchise’s savior and was a big question mark in Petrino’s offense. It’s time for the Falcons to turn the page, expedite the rebuilding process, and allow Petrino to put his own stamp on the franchise by hand picking his own quarterback. Can anyone say Brian Brohm?

The smart move for Arthur Blank and Rich McKay is to move forward immediately and assure that #7 has played his last game for the Falcons. Then again, with the way things are going for Vick he may not be playing anywhere for a very long time.

MLB All-Star Game Foreshadowing Things to Come?

2007-07-16T16:27:00.000-04:00

After sitting around last Tuesday night watching the MLB All-Star Game from the comfort of my sofa I figured I would share a few thoughts I had from the game. These thoughts exclude the already overly discussed Pujols-La Russa drama. In addition, I will refrain from mentioning how instead of spending the evening in McCovey Cove, Eric Byrnes should have been playing in the dang game! Ok, I’m done now.

Now, while drawing conclusions from a glorified exhibition may not hold much weight, I believe there were some telling signs that need to be discussed. With that said, I decided to be lazy and make a list:

* How good is Chris Young really?

San Diego starter Chris Young is a nice player, but should he be leading the league with a 2.00 ERA? Prior to being trading to San Diego, Young made 38 starts for Texas where he had a 4.35 ERA. At age 28, maybe Young has simply become a better player with more games under his belt and that probably does have something to do with his improvement. The other reason for his success could be the deadly combination of that he now pitches in the National League in the most pitcher-friendly park in the history of baseball. Nobody hits in Petco Park where Young's ERA is a ridiculous 0.82 compared to 3.33 on the road. That should tell you something right there.

In fifth inning on Tuesday night, Young proceeded to walk the lead off hitter Brian Roberts before giving up Ichiro's inside the parker. Texas forever! With the Padres battling for a division title Young will be counted on to pitch big down the stretch and that will include getting the job done on the road. Young will have a chance to prove his mettle and show that the ERA isn't just an aberration.

* Can closers not named Rivera be counted on?

JJ Putz has had an excellent season for Seattle up to this point. His performance trying to close out the All-Star game for the American League in was the antithesis of excellent. Putz was able to put away the first two batters before completely imploding after Dmitri Young reached on an infield single that Baltimore’s Brian Roberts failed to glove. A two run homer by Soriano followed by a walk and Putz’s night was done. Even though it was the All-Star Game, the appearance was probably the most pressure packed situation the young closer has ever faced. With the surprising Mariners squarely in contention in the AL can Putz be counted on when the pressure mounts at the end of the season?

Aw, but the closer question don’t end there. Putz then gave way to Los Angeles/Anaheim closer Francisco Rodriguez who made things even more interesting by walking the first two hitters he faced and subsequently loading the bases. K-Rod must have forgotten that he was pitching in the All-Star Game and not a contest to see who can throw the hardest. There’s overthrowing and then there’s OVERTHROWING. It’s a shock that Rodriguez was able to even record an out. The way he was spinning and falling off the mound after he released the ball, it looked more likely that he was going to pirouette off the mound and stumble all the way into the dugout forcing Jim Leyland to go with option C. K-Rod is battle tested and has got big outs in his career, but the Angel’s may want to supply him with some Ritalin if they make it to the postseason. Just in case.

Trying to determine whether or not a player will succeed down the stretch based on an exhibition may seem like grasping for air. This may be the case, but if you see Chris Young or Mr. Putz costing their respective teams in September don't say I didn't warn you.

Dan Patrick Leaving ESPN

2007-07-10T09:42:00.000-04:00

A long time staple of ESPN, former "SportsCenter" anchor and radio talk show host Dan Patrick is leaving ESPN after 18 years. Patrick explained the decision by saying it was time to move on and that he had begun to take his job at the "Worldwide Leader" for granted.

For many years Patrick was arguably the network's most popular "SportsCenter" anchor and on-air personality even more likable than Mr. ESPN Chris Berman. For the past few years, however, Patrick's appeal had visibly softened and even his audience would agree that it seemed as though he had taken his status at ESPN for granted. From my vantage point, Patrick went from an entertaining presence with his subtle humor and quick wit to a stuck-up know-it-all who would rather kiss up to sport's biggest stars. Come to think of it, that kinda sounds like the evolution of ESPN itself.

So farewell Mr. Patrick, maybe we will see you hosting the "Price Is Right" in the not so distant future. If not, we always have the memories.

NBA Feeling the Draft

2007-07-06T12:19:00.000-04:00

It’s extremely difficult to watch NBA basketball games these days. These past playoffs were especially brutal. Aside from Golden State, Phoenix, and Lebron’s one shining moment against Detroit, trying to maintain an interest in the league’s never ending postseason is a hopeless endeavor. Any game where San Antonio is a participant isn’t even worth considering (unless Phoenix is involved and even then it’s still painful). Which would partly explain why not even the name Lebron James could save the NBA Finals from posting its lowest ratings ever. The other reason for the low ratings is that the NBA game just isn’t very good. When the highlight of your postseason is the draft lottery you know you got problems. Which leads to the question – Is the idea of the NBA more intriguing than the actual product?

I say yes.

It’s like playing franchise mode in NBA Live where wheeling and dealing – making trades, signing free agents, changing your team’s starting five – building your team is more fun than actually playing the games against the computer. You’re better off just simulating the games and advancing to the off-season to play GM and do it all again. Fans feel the same way about the real NBA, which was evident with amount of attention paid to the NBA draft. My buddies and I were more excited about the draft than we have been about any NBA game in about a decade. This same sentiment is why my brother, who grew up a Blazers fan, but hasn’t paid attention to the NBA since the days of Kevin Duckworth, is now digging out all his old Blazers gear even while, living on the east coast, he likely won’t watch one minute of Greg Oden or his Portland teammates next season. The NBA game looks much better on paper than it ever does on the court.

Don’t Call It a Sport

2007-05-31T22:32:00.000-04:00

Boxing should no longer be called a sport. Not after the farce Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. put on earlier this month. Not surprisingly, Mayweather came out victorious winning a ridiculous split decision in the over-hyped, immediately forgettable bout. Despite the fact that the fight never had a chance to match the hype leading up to it, it was still a must-see event to even the casual boxing fan like myself despite the $55 dollar price tag. Reinforcing that sentiment was news that the fight proved to be the most lucrative in the history of boxing. Well, all 2 million plus buyers should demand a refund. After hearing of his record setting bout, promoter/loser Oscar De La Hoya had this to share:

"I'm ecstatic. Of course, the money makes me really happy, but just having those records and being a non-heavyweight is an accomplishment in itself. To break the 1.99 million mark goes to show you that Golden Boy Promotions likes to do things in a big way. I think everyone targeted the 1.4 million mark, but me and [Golden Boy CEO] Richard [Schaefer] were always shooting for the 2 million mark. It's amazing."

Thank you, Oscar. Maybe you should mention that you lost the fight, but I guess the actual competition comes second to the almighty dollar. Herein lies the problem with having a fighter also be his own promoter. For all I know the De La Hoya-Mayweather “fight” was nothing more than a staged performance. The entire production, from the cross-country promotional tour to the HBO reality show to the fight itself, more closely resembled the WWE than an actual sporting event. The nation bought into the marketing ploy as a record number paid the high price for a low form of "sports enertainment." De La Hoya and Mayweather were laughing all the way to bank before the opening bell. The main goal of these two “fighters” wasn’t to try to win a sport contest, but to create a spectacle leading up to the fight that would entice fans to buy it. Their jobs were done before ever hitting the ring.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

2007-05-18T13:20:00.000-04:00

A Message from the Bleeding Sports GM to his beloved New York Yankees:

It is time to grow up, show some guts, play like men and not little leaguers. If you are satisfied with being the laughing stock of Major League Baseball then get off this team. If you sit there in the dugout laugh and tell jokes when losing in the 9th GO HOME. It is time to sack up and stop playing like pathetic bums who drop their heads when they go down one run. Show some fire, get that glare in your eye that says "I am not afraid of you, you can't stop me BRING IT ON". Stop crying like Bobby Abreu after he gets a strike show everyone that you care and win some games. You dug yourself a huge hole in the AL East and today is the day to start the comeback if you still want to salvage the season. If not everyone will be forced to start thinking about the Eli Manning face and that gives me nightmares. So lets go and end this garbage before it is too late. MAN UP NOW!!

Cano's Strike Zone

2007-05-15T10:12:00.001-04:00

The Bleeding Sports GM is a rapid Yankee fan and an avid reader of Nomaas.org, which is where he found this little nugget...

This is a regulation strike zone:

This is Robinson Cano's strike zone:

.250 BA / .296 OBP / .339 SLG / .635 OPS

The 2007 NFL Draft Blog

2007-05-07T10:39:00.000-04:00

Last weekend the 2007 NFL Draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York. I did not attend. However, I did sit on my couch and watch the coverage on ESPN. I find the draft one of the most entertaining events in all of sports. So I decided to keep a blog of the first ten picks. And it went a little bit like this…

Welcome to Bleeding Sports live coverage of the 2007 NFL Draft. And here’s the commissioner Roger Goodell! This is a historic day since I am too young to remember watching an NFL draft without Paul Tagliabue. You got to give the new commish credit for his enthusiasm. The Raiders are now on the clock and already things don’t look good. Before the last commercial break ESPN cut to a shot of the Raiders table on the draft floor. Sitting there were a lost elderly man and two high school kids who couldn’t figure out how to put on a headset. Did Al Davis hold a raffle to see who got to sit at the Raiders’ draft table?

Another interesting development this year is we are graced by the presence of Keyshawn Johnson who just compared the best player in the draft, Calvin Johnson, as a cross between Randy Moss and himself. For the sake of all mankind let’s hope not. Can somebody please call Mike Ditka and get him over to Radio City, STAT!

The big question is will the Raiders trade the top pick or use it to select the most overrated draft prospect in recent memory, JaMarcus Russell. I don’t know about you, but I would have a hard time passing on a lazy, slow, overweight quarterback who ballooned to 300 pounds just in time for the combine. Oh and we just saw a highlight of Russell throwing the ball 64 yards on one knee!! Because THAT is a necessary skill in order to be successful in the NFL. Just ask Kyle Boller. Before the Sugar Bowl Russell was regarded as a second round pick at best and now he is about to be the first player chosen. Does playing well against the Notre Dame defense constitute that big of jump? Teams get way too excited over these individual workouts instead of focusing on the entire body of work. Throughout the entire season, Brady Quinn was the considered the top quarterback prospect because of his performance on the field and isn’t that what really matters?

And with the first pick the Raiders select…JaMarcus Russell. Ugh, Chris Berman just had to mention how he can throw the ball 64 yards from his knees. I may have to smash my laptop 20 minutes into the draft. This is going to be the shortest draft blog in history. The Raiders didn’t call Russell until after they make pick meaning they were desperately trying to trade down. Instead, they pulled the trigger on Russell and behind that offensive line he can attempt to break David Carr’s times sacked in a season record.

The Lions are now on the clock. I don’t care how many draft picks Matt Millen has blown on receivers, unless Tampa Bay agrees to swap picks and give him both of their second round choices you need to take Calvin Johnson. Actually, scratch that, you take Calvin Johnson no matter what. And the Lions select…Calvin Johnson. You just can’t pass on the best player in the draft.

Now the question becomes do the Browns take hometown boy Brady Quinn. If, I’m Phil Savage I take the Quinn because I don’t see the Charlie Frye/Derek Anderson era lasting much longer. And with the third pick the Browns select…Joe Thomas. Solid pick, you really can’t argue with taking an all-world left tackle to anchor the line. Now the question become where does Brady fall. My money is on Miami, but Chris Mortensen just brought up that Jon Gruden may take Quinn with the fourth pick. The Bucs already have thirteen quarterbacks. Naturally, Gruden’s favorite former player, Keyshawn, agrees with Mortensen’s theory.

I just saw on the ESPN bottom line that the Packers key addition this off-season was Frank Walker. Maybe Brett Favre should rethink returning next season.

After some speculation that the Gruden would take Quinn, the Bucs draft Gaines Adams. He a pass rushing defensive end who weighs 250 pounds, which makes him smaller than some running backs these days. A situational pass rusher taken with the fourth pick of the draft?

The Cardinals make the safe pick and take Levi Brown. They really had no choice, but to draft an offensive tackle. That team is an offensive line away from becoming a threat in the NFC. Though I think people have been saying that about the Cardinals for the past four years.

Is it weird that when the commissioner announces the picks he uses the word "Take" instead of "Select". It just doesn’t sound as proper, but I still like how he addresses the fans before some of the picks. The NFL needed a commissioner with more enthusiasm and passion, someone who is a true a fan. Looks like the No Fun League found the right guy.

As for the draft, we are five picks in with Brady Quinn and Adrian Peterson still sitting in the green room. That has to be a mild surprise.
The Redskins just drafted Redman for WU Tang Clan…oh wait…I mean LaRon Landry from LSU. You can always rely on the Skins to make a questionable personnel decision.

Steve Young just made a comment on how it will be interesting to see how Landry and Redskins’ safety Shaun Taylor will play together since they both prefer playing at the line of scrimmage. No kidding. That’s the reason Adam Archuleta is now in Chicago. Hellooo.

Minnesota TAKES Adrian Peterson. That’s a steal. A good pick for the Vikings except for the fact that they can’t throw the football on offense, can’t stop the pass on defense and it looks like Tarvaris Jackson is the starting quarterback. Peterson better be healthy because something tells me he and Chester Taylor are both going to be getting a lot of work. Just by playing in the same division as Minnesota, Green Bay, and Detroit the Rex Grossman era in Chicago will go on forever.

With Peterson off the board, we just need to wait for Miami to take Brady Quinn. These NFL execs just never learn. How do quarterbacks like Leinart and Quinn fall like this? Doesn’t a guy’s play in actual game situations trump anything else like throwing the ball 64 yards indoors on your knees? Apparently, amongst NFL decision makers the answer is No. Teams seem to forget about a player’s actually performance against competition and become consumed with individual workouts that do little to show how a guy will perform on Sundays. There is so much time from the end of the college football season to the actual draft that teams actually over-evaluate prospects. Personnel departments have so much time to evaluate that it’s inevitable they will find something wrong with a player. By the time the draft rolls around, teams end have talked themselves out of drafting certain guys and end up making bad decisions. They forget about a player’s actually performance against competition and become consumed with individual workouts that do little to show how a guy will perform on Sundays. Ridiculous.

I digress. Anyway, somebody needs to diversify Rachel Nichols wardrobe. I wonder if when she wakes up in the morning and walks over to her closet if she asks herself, “Should I wear the black suit or the black suit?”

Atlanta selects Jamaal Anderson. Only this one doesn’t play running back, he’s a defensive end from Arkansas. I wonder if he knows the dirty bird.

New commercials for Madden 08 make me happy. Coming August 14th. (Product not yet rated).

When did Michael Smith become an NFL “expert?” It seems like ESPN executives woke up one day and decided to make random sports writers ‘experts’ in a given sport. Now viewers are blessed to have Mike Wilbon NBA “expert” and Michael Smith NFL “expert” grace their television. Shouldn’t Smith have to make at least one relevant point or offer one bit of valuable insight before we deem him an “expert?” Where is my resume.

This has got to be demoralizing for Brady Quinn who has now been interviewed by Suzy Kolber twice while waiting in the green room. Not mention having to take shots from Tong Kornheiser of all people.

And now the moment of truth. With the ninth pick, The Dolphins TAKE…Ted Ginn Jr?!?!?!?! WHAT!!! Even Mel Kiper is outraged! Brady is starting to look worried! What are the dolphins thinking?? Did they give up on trying to replace Marino and come to the decision to play without a quarterback this season? Is 38-year old Trent Green, who isn’t even on the team at this moment, the answer? I can’t believe. The Dolphins pick was so bad the entire ESPN panel is up in arms. I think Mel Kiper just choke slammer Chris Berman through the table! Not only did the Dolphins pass up on a franchise quarterback they reached for an undersized wide receiver who can’t really play wide receiver and has a Lis Franc injury to his foot. And now, Brady Quinn’s slide down the draft board may take on Aaron Rogers’ size proportions.

Houston has the tenth pick. I would be kicking myself right if I were the Houston Texans. You think they would have traded for an unknown commodity in Matt Schaub knowing they could have had Quinn and a full complement of draft picks the next two years?

On that note, let’s end the Draft coverage here. I don’t even care who the Texans pick. I’m still in shock. Stay strong Brady!

The Last Word on March Madness

2007-05-03T12:48:00.000-04:00

Anybody who knows about Karma saw the demise of Ohio St. coming in the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship game. The Buckeyes rode a wave of extraordinary circumstances all the way to the men’s college basketball title game against Florida. I can’t think of a team that played in more bizarre games over the course of a single tournament and the most mind boggling part about it is that the Buckeyes won every contest. That is until they ran into a Gator team looking to make a little history of their own.

A mad scientist couldn’t have concocted a more polarizing match-up: joyless Mr. Oden and his posse of future Freshman dropouts vs. a team compromised of four first round draft choices all of whom decided to return to school and defend their National Championship because of their love for college and the game of basketball. I wonder who the college basketball gods were rooting for?

While there would not have been a more poetic ending to Greg Oden’s enigmatic college career than his sore loser assault on Xavier’s Brandon Cole, fate had other plans. The Buckeyes somehow, someway made it to the final game. They were oh so close, but alas, it just wasn’t meant to be for the best team Thad Matta could buy.

Take care Greg Oden. Happy trails Mike Conley. Barely knew you Daequen Cook. You boys were successful at killing some time by attending History of Rock n Roll class and playing some college hoops while waiting for your NBA window to open. When it came to winning the big game, however, your team wasn't as successful.

I find it amazing how the majority of the coverage on the National Championship game centered on Greg Oden’s dominance. Yet not once while watching the game did I ever think to myself “this is an all-time great performance!” CBS were lead you to believe it was with all the ranting and raving by announcers Jim Nantz and Bill Packer. You would think that a player as “dominating” as Oden supposed was in the game would at least of had his team IN the game. The Buckeyes were never in the game. Florida took control early on and Ohio St. never mounted a legitimate threat the rest of the way. Others like Mr. Nantz and Mr. Packer may have thought differently, but anyone who knows a little something about Karma knew the Buckeyes never had a chance.

Yankees Still the Team to Beat in AL East

2007-03-30T10:16:00.000-04:00

Special by The Bleeding Sports resident GM

I am sick and tired of these baseball idiots year after year saying the Yankees will miss the playoffs then switch over to the National League and pick the Braves every year because "You can't pick against them until they don't make it". The Yankees haven't missed the playoffs since 1993 (1994 was a strike year and they would have won the World Series) but every year since 2001 was supposed to be the year the Yankees miss the playoffs and the Red Sox win the division. Well that hasn't happened my friends because every year those idiots in Boston choke around the All-Star game and the Yankees over take them en route to another AL East Division title.

This year is no different with everyone picking the Red Sox on the basis of a pitcher from Japan who hasn't thrown a pitch in the major leagues let alone in the toughest division. I agree, however, that this could be the year the Red Sox win the division because of their starting pitching but don't even try to explain to me that their overall staff is so much better than the Yankees. Yes the Yankees have question marks in Mussina and Pettitte regarding their age and durability especially since Pettitte already has a stiff back and had elbow surgery in the past, but the Red Sox have these problems as well. Schilling and Wakefield, for example, are both 40 years old and have missed time the last few seasons due to injury. Wakefield was put on the DL last season and missed a month and a half because of back and rib cage injuries. Schilling is FAT and out of shape so who says this can't be the year he starts to show his age and hurts his ankle again due to his obesity.

The quality of each team's starting rotation becomes more apparent when you look at the other members of the staff:

Beckett vs. Wang - Red Sox have a very slight edge here for now because Wang will miss the first three weeks of the season because of a grade 1 hamstring strain and even though Beckett had a 5.00+ ERA last year he should be better than that his second time around. Wang, however, has a devastating 94 mph sinker that is un-hittable when he has his good stuff, he just needs to stay healthy.

Dice-K vs. Michael Kay Igawa - Dice-K has the edge here in the unknown of Japanese pitchers (reference Hideki Irabu, Hideo Nomo). All the scouts say that he is a front end of the rotation guy while Igawa is kind of a soft tossing lefty who might struggle to get his fastball by major league hitters.

Pavano (Clemens) vs. Tavarez or Lester - This is a toss up, Tavarez is an ace at punching walls and Lester is coming off chemotherapy so he wont make his '07 debut until the end of April or early May. I will not even address Pavano and his fake injuries and his crybaby attitude that the media created his problems in the clubhouse, but you better pitch well opening day or you will be utterly HATED by all Yankee fans.

Hoya Heaven, Carolina Blues

2007-03-26T23:22:00.000-04:00

After having to come from behind to defeat Boston College, then needing a fantastic shot by Jeff Greene to take down Vanderbilt, Georgetown once again provided the drama on Sunday night in shocking North Carolina. With 6:02 left in the second half, the Hoyas trailed 75-65 before mounting a furious comeback. Georgetown outscored the Tar Heels 16-6 to tie the game at 81 at the end of regulation. During the Georgetown comeback, CBS analyst Billy Packer threw out a prophetic warning – Carolina was 0 for their last 6 in overtime games. The Tar Heels didn’t have a prayer.

The Georgetown defense, missing for the first 30 minutes of the game, overwhelmed UNC down the stretch. In overtime, the Tar Heels were completely lost on offense, playing at a frantic pace without running anything that resembled a half-court set. They were in complete panic mode like a boxer who had just been stunned by a right cross and then realized he’d been cut. The Tar Heels didn’t know how to react once Georgetown opened the wound.

All season long, the “experts” raved about Carolina’s 10 man rotation and how their depth gave them an enormous advantage at the end of the game. Not this time. During crunch time it was the Tar Heels who wilted under the late game pressure. It doesn’t make a difference how many guys you play if you don’t play defense or make shots. The Tar Heels rely on outscoring opponents by getting out on the break for high percentage shots. Carolina’s perimeter shooting is mediocre at best and their defense has been a concern all season. While Carolina racked up the points in the first half and had a huge advantage at the free throw line they allowed Georgetown to shoot 58% from the field keeping the Hoyas in the game.

Down the stretch, when the game became a half court battle North Carolina’s flaws were exposed. Defensively, Carolina couldn’t stop Georgetown and on offense they couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean. That Tar Heels fans, is how a 10 point lead turned into a 12 point defeat in a matter of 11 minutes. Make that 0 for their last 7 in overtime.

Madness: Day 2

2007-03-16T18:29:00.000-04:00

What we hope is the last snowstorm of the season in the northeast prevented Bleeding Sports from posting its viewers guide for the early games here for Day 2 for the NCAA Tournament. So before we get to tonight’s action let’s recap the first day and a half.

Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament left much to be desired as only one favorite lost. With that being said, VCU taking down Duke and literally pummeling them in the process nearly made up for the rest of the day’s underwhelming action. The fact that I completely forgot to mention that game as one to watch yesterday is unforgivable.

Secondly, Bleeding Sports would like to take this time to recognize the selection committee because without them the viewing public would have missed out on a chance to see the Stanford’s feeble about to prove they belong in the field of 64. While we’re at it let’s thank the Cardinal for showing up. It showed a lot of guts on their part to even return to court for the second half after the beat down Louisville gave them. Louisville could have won that game by 50 if they had wanted. It’s funny because just last West Virginia has Louisville all but beaten in the Big East tourney. The game probably cost the Mountaineers a trip to the big dance. West Virginia is now busy blowing teams out in the NIT, which is exactly where Stanford should have been. So who still believes the Pac 10 is better than the Big East? Anybody?

The early games here on day 2 have been much more competitive than yesterday. However, that statement isn’t saying much. The second upset of the tourney came by another 11 seed as everybody’s new favorite team, Winthrop, blew a 20-point lead before pulling the upset over Notre Dame. It was a nice comeback by the Irish, but performances like today are the reason everyone and their mother picked Winthrop in this game. Wisconsin looked terrible in the first half against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before finding their shooting stoke in the second 20 minutes. The Badgers looked destine to be upset for much of the game and had to expend a lot of energy to comeback. It should be interesting to see how they come out on Saturday against a tough UNLV squad who squeaked by Georgia Tech after blowing a seven-point halftime lead.

Looking at the remaining games today, it is unbelievable to me just how many mediocre teams made the tournament this year. What is even more amazing is how many of them are actually matched up against one another. Try staying awake watching these classics:

7:10pm – (12) Illinois vs. (5) Virginia Tech

I’ve heard a few analysts as of late rave about how the Illini are a strong defensive team. I’d say you’d have to be good defensively with the offense they possess. Like Stanford, not sure why Illinois made the tournament. Their opponent Virginia Tech, a former Big East cellar dweller who moved to the ACC and became a perennial tournament team almost overnight, is the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde. They can beat North Carolina, but they can also lose to any team in the country.

7 :20pm – (9) Purdue vs. (8) Arizona

A match-up of two non-descript teams that have no chance of making any noise in this tournament yet one of them has to advance. The tournament committee may as well have given #1 overall seed Florida a bye into the Sweet 16.

9:40pm – (12) Arkansas vs. (5) USC

Saying that Arkansas sucks is an understatement. Seriously, the fact that the Razorbacks are in the NCAA tournament is indefensible. Their “impressive” run through the SEC tournament consisted of wins against juggernaut South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and the basketball powerhouse Mississippi before Florida exploited them for the fraud they are. Does the committee even watch any games? God only knows what to expect from USC considering they come from the same conference as Stanford.

Other than the #8 vs. #9 match-up between Kentucky and Villanova (9:30 pm), your best bet for a quality college basketball game tonight is the second round NIT battle between Marist and NC State. 9:30 pm on ESPNU.

The good news: Tomorrow the snow ends and the second round begins.

So Many Games, So Little Time

2007-03-15T12:17:00.000-04:00

Let the countdown begin. We are just minutes away from the opening round of the Road to the Final Four. At this moment, 64 teams from across the country all believe they have a shot to play in Atlanta for the National Championship. If last year’s tournament taught us anything it’s that every team in the field has a chance to win. You never know where Cinderella is hiding, but you don’t have to wait much longer to find out. It’s time to sit back and enjoy all the drama, intrigue, and excitement of the NCAA Tournament. Looking for the best storylines from Day 1? Here is Bleeding Sports’ rundown of your best bets from the first day of action.

12:20pm – (13) Davidson vs. (4) Maryland

The first game of the 2007 tournament is out of the Midwest region and tips off from Buffalo, NY. I like that NCAA decided to bring back the geographic names for each region this year even though you have teams in the West and Midwest regions playing games in Buffalo. It sounds much better than calling something the St. Louis region or the East Rutherford region. Maryland is an interesting team that was a strong run before their shocking loss to Miami in the ACC tournament. Look for the Terrapins to get back on track and make a run.

12:30pm – (11) Stanford vs. (6) Louisville

This is a huge game and not just because it pits The Cardinal vs. The Cardinals. This match up epitomizes the job done by tournament selection committee. No conference was more disrespected than the Big East. Louisville finished second in the conference and yet they were awarded a 6 seed. On the other side, way too much love was given to the Pac-10. How Stanford, losers of 4 of their last 5 games, even made the filed over the likes of Syracuse and West Virginia is maddening.

2:40pm (12) Old Dominion vs. (5) Butler

An interesting match-up between two mid-major at-large teams and it just so happens to be a contest between a 5 seed and 12 seed. This game has upset written all over it. Right? Seems like everybody is hopping on the ODU bandwagon for this game yet the best argument for ODU is because they won at Georgetown early in the season. That was a nice win and all, but Georgetown was a very different team then than they are now. Butler, meanwhile, has been the better team all season. Should be a good contest.

7:20pm – (9) Michigan St. vs. (8) Marquette

A classic 8 vs. 9 battle between two evenly matched teams and a coach (MSU’s Tom Izzo) going up against his former assistant (MU’s Tom Crean). Another sub-plot here is the Big Ten vs. the Big East. It is clear by the seeding and the records of the team that got in the tournament that the selection committee obviously held the Big Ten in higher regard. Yet I can’t imagine any unbiased party who watched the quality of play in the Big Ten would seriously believe that the Big East wasn’t the better conference. This game is another chance for a Big East team to prove the committee wrong.

9:45pm – (10) Gonzaga vs. (7) Indiana

The final game scheduled for the evening comes out of the West Region and will actually be played out West in Sacramento, CA. What are the odds? The Hoosier another prime example of a Big Ten team viewed in much higher regard than they should just because they played in a conference with Ohio St. and Wisconsin. This is where too much attention is paid to the RPI. Just because a team plays in a conference with two top 5 teams doesn’t mean the rest of the league is any good. In fact, the rest of the Big Ten is awful and Indiana is part of that group. Gonzaga’s guard play should cause problems for Kelvin Sampson’s squad.

Here Comes the Madness

2007-03-15T01:04:00.000-04:00

The Bleeding Sports hiatus is over. Even while on vacation Bleeding Sports couldn’t stop thinking college basketball. There isn’t a more exciting time in sports than the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The excitement starts Thursday at high noon, but before the games begin make sure you are prepared. The key to an enjoyable tourney experience is having the right bracket. Luckily, Bleeding Sports has got it covered.

Here is the bracket straight from NCAA Sports

If you want to know the times for each then this is the bracket for you

If you are particular about having the records of each team then look no further

Now just remember to call out sick from work. Let the Madness begin.

Things Begin to Heat Up

2007-03-02T16:18:00.000-05:00

The dreaded month of February is over and with it ends the four-week slumber the sports world dozes into after the Super Bowl. Never fear, March is here. The artic freeze in the northeast has begun to fade and bright sunny days are just around the corner. Well, let’s hope so.

Bleeding Sports will be on Spring Break hiatus for the week, but before that we leave you, our loyal readers, with some things to watch for over the next week in the world of sports:

· The new NFL year has officially kicked off. Today is the start of free agency in the NFL and the wheeling and dealing has already begun. Jake Plummer will be filing his retirement papers, the Steelers said goodbye to Joey Porter, and the Jaguars signed their kicker and some guy named Pathos who used to play for the Ravens. And those are just the highlights!!

· Speaking of new years, Major League Baseball spring training is underway. We already got a new steroid scandal, an injured World Series MVP, and enough A-Rod stories to cover an entire season. Baseball, Baseball…Catch The Fever Now!!!

· America’s Game is back on the NFL Network counting down all 40 Super Bowl Champions prior to this season. NFL Films has produced an hour-long program for each team with the story of their season told by three of its members. If you’re a football fan then you need to be watching this show. New episodes of America’s game air Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm on NFL Network.

· Let the Madness begin. This weekend marks the end of the college basketball regular season for the power conferences while mid-majors begin postseason conference tournament play. By this time next week we will be in the middle of college basketball heaven when the big boys begin their conference tournies. College basketball every day at any time! Just thinking about it makes me gitty.

I LOVE MARCH!!!

Hamilton Has His Shot at Redemption

2007-02-22T15:51:00.000-05:00

As spring training begins, here is one story worth keeping an eye on. Former #1 overall pick, Josh Hamilton, whose life and career were derailed by drug and alcohol abuse, has a shot at making the Cincinnati Reds 25-man roster. The first overall selection in the 1999 draft hadn’t played in an organized game in four years before being reinstated by Major League Baseball at the end of last season. The Reds selected Hamilton in the Rule 5 Draft from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays back in December. His battle with addiction has been a brutal struggle, but now -- clean for nearly a year and a half -- he has fought his way back with an opportunity to turn his tragedy into triumph. The man who Tampa Bay All-Star Carl Crawford called the best baseball player he’s ever seen now has his chance to make headlines on the diamond.

Don’t count out Josh Hamilton. Root for him.

It’s now OK to talk NBA…For Now

2007-02-22T10:15:00.001-05:00

Well maybe for just a second. NBA All-Star Weekend has come and gone capped by Sunday’s unwatchable All-Star game. Teams are now back to business back as the second half of the season began Tuesday night. So now that the NBA stretch run is upon us, is it time to starting talking NBA basketball? Not so much. The NBA is all about quantity over quality and there will be plenty of time for fans to turn their attention to the NBA when the never-ending playoffs begin whenever. As March Madness draws near, NBA basketball shouldn’t be on any basketball fans radar until after the conclusion of the college basketball season.

However, there is one event this week in the NBA that is more exciting than the actual product out on the court and that is the trade deadline, which hits today at 3pm. There has been talk galore and most of it will amount to absolutely nothing. However, this doesn’t mean that speculation and rumors aren’t fun to discuss. Bleeding Sports breaks down some of the more prominent trade rumors making the rounds and which ones GMs should pull the trigger on before the deadline.

Memphis Grizzlies trade Pau Gasol to Chicago Bulls

This trade has been talked about for weeks on end. While Kevin Garnett would be a better option for the Bulls, Minnesota is hell belt on keeping the Big Ticket in Minneapolis for the time being. Memphis, meanwhile, isn’t pushing Gasol out the door as hard as he’s trying to bust it down. The major sticking point in this trade is Jerry West’s desire to acquire 2 of the Bulls’ 4 young studs of Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, and Andres Nocioni. Bulls’ GM John Paxson isn’t willing to overpay even for a low post scorer the Bulls’ desperately need. While I agree there is great risk involved for Chicago, at some point the franchise needs to make a move. The team has been in dire need of an inside threat since trading away Eddy Curry and Bulls aren’t going anywhere until they fill that void. The choice for the Bulls is to either make the deal for Gasol now and make a run in the East or wait, fade in the postseason for the third straight season, then make a run for Garnett in the summer.

Sacramento Kings trade Mike Bibby to Cleveland Cavaliers

This is an interesting rumor that has started to gain momentum. If Cleveland can pull this off they have to go for it. Matching Bibby with Larry Hughes and Lebron may just be what Cleveland needs to get past Detroit and into the NBA Finals. Any trade with Sacramento, would include Drew Gooden heading out West. The challenge for Cavaliers’ GM Danny Ferry is finding a third team that can provide the Kings with an expiring contract and draft picks that Cleveland doesn’t have to offer.

New Jersey Nets trade Jason Kidd to Los Angeles Lakers and Vince Carter to Who Knows

Sounds more and more unlikely that neither Jason Kidd or Vince Carter will be moved before the trade deadline. However, if I were the Nets’ Rob Thorn I would be desperately trying to move both of them. New Jersey wants Andrew Bynum from Los Angeles in exchange for Kidd, who is a player the Lakers’ are unwilling to move. I understand New Jersey refusing to a deal without Bynum, but I still believe that Kidd’s trade value is at its peak right now and if they can’t get Bynum now they shouldn’t expect to him get or any player of that caliber down the road.

As for Vince Carter, he is likely to opt out of his contract after this season and become a free agent. The likelihood of him returning to New Jersey are highly unlikely, however, teams aren’t willing to give up much for a player who could bolt at the end of the season. The Nets are currently 9th in the Eastern Conference and are going nowhere fast. Receiving something in return for Carter is better than nothing. You would think there would be a contender out there who believes Carter could put them over the top and would have something to offer New Jersey. While the Nets may be worried about a public relations backlash from the fans they should be more concerned about building this team for the future and its eventual move to Brooklyn. Nobody in New Jersey goes to watch the Nets play now so what’s the difference.

Bleeding Sports Invades ESPN College GameDay

2007-02-20T10:13:00.000-05:00

Special thanks to the Bleeding Sports Marketing Team and their superior effort to promote the site this past weekend at Boston College. Bleeding Sports stole the show prior to and during the ESPN College GameDay telecast from Conte Forum. If only Digger Phelps didn't have to be a playa-hater and position himself right in front of Bleeding Sports' advertising space!

Still Time to Turn on the Lights

2007-02-14T20:18:00.000-05:00

Football may be over, but not to fear. Time to your attention to something more constructive or at least change the channel. Tonight, after the Valentine's Day festivities have died down, consider this triple threat of quality television for the casual sports fan.

At 8, over on NBC, check out Friday Night Lights. Forget about Heroes, Lights is the best new show of the season. Ratings have been underwhelming, but now is as good a time as any to start watching. If you haven’t seen it, time to see what you are missing. This show deserves a larger audience and second season in the fall.

At 9, head over to ESPN and catch Duke at Boston College. Last year’s game was wild with Duke blowing a huge lead only to hold on at the end thanks to a controversial no call. BC is looking to avenge a loss in Durham earlier this season while Duke needs a win in the worst way.

Then beginning at 10:30 a little NBA for you Knicks and Warriors fans out there (I know there are still some left). New York completes their three game West Coast road trip at Golden State as both teams look to head into the All-Star beak on a positive note. The Knicks are coming off a wild one point victory last night against the Lakers while the Warriors have lost 3 of 4. The game can be seen on MSG in the northeast.

As the NFL World Turns

2007-02-13T11:51:00.000-05:00

Like I’ve said before, even after the season ends there is never a dull moment in the National Football League.

The San Diego Chargers have fired head coach Marty Schottenheimer. President Dean Spanos and the organization felt like it was a move they had to make. Schottenheimer and GM A.J. Smith’s relationship continued to be a distraction and the coach’s value plummeted after losing five assistant coaches this off-season. The Chargers felt it was no longer worth bringing Schottenheimer back. While critics argue that Schottenheimer choked in the playoffs, you can’t lose playoff games unless you actually reach the playoffs. Schottenheimer has been a consistent winner, which is something the Chargers had never been until Marty Ball arrived.

Let the Jerry Reese era begin! The New York Football Giants made a few roster moves yesterday cutting Carlos Emmons, LaVar Arrington, and Luke Petitgout. Emmons could never stay on the field since signing with New York in 2004. Arrington made little impact before tearing his Achilles tendon in Week 7 at Dallas. The outside linebacker position has been a glaring weakness for Giants the last couple of seasons and it is time for some new blood. Petitgout has been reliable at left tackle, but has chronic back problems, commits too many penalties, is coming off a broken leg, and carried a $5 million dollar salary for next season.

Mountaineers Make Beilein Toward Return to NCAA Tournament

2007-02-07T19:08:00.000-05:00

After reaching the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive year in 2006 not much was expected out of the West Virginia basketball program when the ’06-’07 season began. Back in October, the Big East coaches picked the team to finish 12^th in the 16 team league. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year and with good reason. Coach John Beilein lost his top five scorers from last year’s squad and was left with just one returning starter in forward Frank Young. Yet the Mountaineers have managed to defy expectations with a record of 7-3 in the Big East and 18-4 overall. Tonight, rival Pittsburgh visits Morgantown and a West Virginia victory would put them just a game out of first place in the conference.

Mike Gansey, Kevin Pittsnogle, and company may be gone, but the style of play under Coach John Beilein has remained the same. The Mountaineers backdoor opponents to death, toss up a barrage of three point shots, and never turn the ball over. On defense, they still employ the 1-3-1 zone and this season's squad with longer, more athletic players are actually better defensively than at any other time during the Beilein's tenure. However, the toughest challenge is ahead for West Virginia. The Mountaineers follow up tonight’s home game with #6 Pittsburgh by hosting #2 UCLA on Saturday and then play at #23 Georgetown on Monday. This stretch will determine if Beilein’s boys are ready for March, but win or lose these underdogs continue to be one of the most enjoyable teams to follow in college basketball.

Sunday BLOODY Sunday

2007-02-04T16:06:00.000-05:00

Today is the day. Super Bowl XLI is only hours away where a new world champion will be crowned. No such drama in the Bleeding Sports pick’em match up between The Pickmeister and the BS Brain Trust. Going into the Super Bowl the Brain Trust has a record of 8-2 while The Pickmeister stands at 4-6. This competition has been over for weeks and one lesson has been learned: The Pickmeister officially needs a name change. Now on to the picks, enjoy the game.

The Pickmeister’s Super Bowl Pick:

Indianapolis -7 over Chicago

Finally the big game is upon us. Millions of people will be situated in front of their big screen TVs watching the commercials and hoping for a good football game. It’s too bad these games rarely live up to their hype, and it saddens me to say that this one won’t be different. Sure Chicago is a GOOD team, but that’s about all they are. The Bears just aren’t a Super Bowl caliber team, and Rex Grossman sure as hell isn’t a Super Bowl caliber quarterback. All year the Bears have relied on their defense to force turnovers, which they did a league leading 43 times, but unfortunately for them that game plan won’t work against Peyton Manning and the Colts who had only 18 giveaways all year. So the Bears are going to need their offense to play big if they want to have a chance to win. But as we have seen throughout the playoffs, Indy’s defense has stepped up their game shutting down teams who have a better rushing game than Chicago. So what does all this mean? It means that for the first time this year Chicago is going to have to rely on Grossman to win the game, and like I have said before that isn’t going to happen. This one has blowout written all over it. Peyton has been waiting for this game his whole career and will not let it the opportunity pass bye, especially against a team like Chicago. Take Indy to cover the 7 point spread.

The Brain Trust’s Superbowl Pick:

Indianapolis -7 over Chicago

It is well documented that the Brain Trust does not believe in the Bears. Peyton Manning and the Colts offense came alive in the second half against New England and look for the success to continue. The Bears defense is extremely overrated. They give up a lot of yards and since the injuries of Tommy Harris and Mike Brown the D has been giving up a lot of points too. The key for the Colts is to take care of the ball. The Bears only chance is to create turnovers and either score on defense or create a short field for the offense. Rain is expected throughout the game, but sounds like not enough to be a significant factor. The Bears simply won’t be able to pound the ball and expect to win. They need turnovers and consistent play out of Rex Grossman. Having to count on both of those thing happening is unrealistic. The Colts have emphasized ball protection and Peyton Manning is not going to make mistakes against the Bears uncomplicated defensive scheme. As for Grossman, if he couldn’t stay focused during New Years how can be counted on after spending the past week in Miami? You have to put your money on Peyton Manning and Indy.

No OFF-Season in the NFL

2007-01-31T14:22:00.000-05:00

Except for the Bears and Colts, NFL teams are already hard at work preparing for next season. Along with new head coach hires there has been a good amount of staff turnover around the league. However, there is one move in particular that has stood out to me and while it hasn’t received much national attention it deserves to be discussed.

The Cleveland Browns have spent the early part of their off-season revamping their offensive coaching staff. The Browns offense has been anemic the last couple years so cleaning house was only logical. It was even more logical to go outside the organization and hire San Diego assistant Rob Chudzinski as the new offensive coordinator. Chudzinski comes over from a Chargers team with one of the most dynamic offenses in the league. Cleveland needed a change in offensive philosophy after averaging a dismal 14.8 points per game in 2006.

What defies logic is that the Carolina Panthers felt inclined to hire Cleveland assistant Jeff Davidson as their new offensive coordinator. Following a season where the Carolina offense lacked production and coordinator Dan Henning was frequently criticized for being too conservative, the organization had to make a change. However, to hire an assistant from a team that just dismantled its offensive staff hardly will win over the confidence of the players or fans. If the team was worried about being too conservative the last place to look for an offensive coach was in Cleveland. You think Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith heard about the hire and were immediately excited about the prospect of resembling a Cleveland offense that scored the third fewest points in the league this past season (32 fewer than Carolina). Don’t think so. Just don’t expect to see a repeat come next season with all the “experts” picking the Carolina Panthers for a trip to Super Bowl.

MIA: The NHL

2007-01-31T10:47:00.000-05:00

About a month ago I was channel surfing one night and stumbled upon Rocky IV for the 9,000,000,000,000th time. The late James Brown is singing "Living in America," Rocky looks confused, and Apollo Creed is dancing around the stage while Ivan Drago stands in the center of the ring…. about to kill him. Obviously, I put down the remote, sat back, and watched this modern day Sly Stallone classic. So Rocky doesn't throw in the towel, Apollo is left having convulsions in the middle of the ring with absolutely no medical personnel on the premise, and the Russia calmly explains, "If he dies, he dies." Everything is peachy.

Then we go to commercial and I realize I’m not watching TNT, but Vs (or Versus, I'm still not sure). Confused, I check the display to see what else is on this mysterious station and up next…Rocky V! I get excited even though it’s Rocky V. Could this be my dream come true...a station that just plays the Rocky movies in a continuous loop or possibly for good measure throws a curveball once in a while and shows Cobra or Over The Top!! Wowie!!! Alas, No. Only in a perfect world I suppose. With never hearing of Versus in my life I actually checked the channel line up card from the cable company. The card says the station is OLN. The plot thickens. Now I have to make the extra effort to go online. Come to find out OLN (Outdoor Life Network???) had changed its name to Versus. The name change took effect a few months back to coincide with the new NHL hockey season.

The NHL made a deal with OLN to be the exclusive cable provided of NHL games prior to last season. Now I may not be a hockey fan, but as a sports fan I had not heard anything about the NHL on Versus debut. As a matter of fact, I never hear anything about the NHL these days. Sports talk shows don't spend a second on it and I never see anything written about the league. I'm surprised SportsCenter still shows NHL game highlights. Does anybody care about the NHL? Does the NHL care if anybody cares? As an outsider it sure doesn't look that way. Then something funny happened last week.

Apparently, last Wednesday the NHL held it's first All-Star game since 2004. Yes, the NHL All-Star Game was held during the middle of the week with no promotion or fanfare. The All-Star game is supposed to be an event, a celebration for both the league and the sport. The NHL has received very little attention since the 2005 strike and with good reason. Nobody missed the game while it was away and few have a pulse on the league now. It is hard to tell if the NHL even has a pulse because when it comes to marketing their product the league is comatose. There will always be the diehards who will support the game of hockey, but they are the minority. The league needs to attract new fans to the game yet there hasn't been one visible attempt made by the NHL to expand their fan base.

I'm not a big proponent of the NBA because of how the league ruins the game of basketball (plus the Knicks suck), but marketing their product is something the league actually does right. The NBA has become an internationally recognizable brand. The NBA All-Star game has little to do about the actual game and more about a weekend long event marketing the league and it's players. Fans and media are given access to a plethora of events taking place during the entire weekend. The NBA has even moved the Rookie - Sophomore Game to Friday night to extend television coverage to of All-Star weekend to three days. Many fans look more forward to NBA All-Star Saturday Night with competitions like the Slam Dunk Contest and Three Point Shootout. Did the NHL even hold any skill competitions this year? I have no idea and neither does any sports fan that isn't a hockey nut because there wasn't one bit of promotion done by the league. The NBA uses the All-Star game and all that it encompasses as an opportunity to market their product to the masses. It is essentially a three-day advertising blitz by the NBA for the NBA. This year the NBA brings the party to Las Vegas. Why? Because it's all about the spectacle and there is no better stage than Vegas for David Stern to showcase his product.

The NHL could sure use a showcase to open the eyes of the general public to the game. This past weekend was a dead weekend for sports and a perfect opportunity for the NHL to be on showcase. Instead, it was decided to schedule the game smack dab in the middle of the week with little mention and absolutely no promotion. This equals nobody watching.

Ratings for the game dropped 76% vs. the last All Star Game in 2004. According to Nielsen Media, the game managed only a 0.7 rating meaning it was watched by a measly 474,298 households. Not what the NHL had in mind in terms of promoting the sport. Gary Bettman should think about heading over to the NBA offices and getting a refresher course in Marketing 101 from his former boss David Stern.

Though a funny thing happened. The NHL actually did manage to garner national attention resulting from the All Star Game. Stories were written about the game and sports talk shows were finally talking about the NHL. One problem. All that talk wasn't about the game itself, the final score, or who won MVP…it was ridicule over the fact that an episode of the forty-year old ‘Andy Griffith Show’ on TV Land got a higher rating than the NHL All Star Game. Finally, the NHL created a buzz.

2007-01-21T14:52:00.000-05:00

NFL Championship Game Picks by THE PICKMEISTER

Current Playoff Record: 3-5

New Orleans +3 over CHICAGO

Sure the Bears have put together an amazing season only losing 3 games all year, but you have to give the majority of the credit to their defense. Let’s face it this Chicago team has a liability at the quarterback position. Grossman isn’t going to win any games for his team, a problem that’s bound to bite the Bears in the ass. New Orleans on the other hand has so many great weapons, and Drew Brees has emerged as one of the best QBs in the league. If the Saints defense can not give up any more huge plays, they should take this game with ease. Take the Saints getting 3 points.

INDIANAPOLIS -3 over New England

This playoff match has become quite familiar over the past few years, with New England always finding a way to come out on top. Look for this year to finally be different. Indianapolis is a much better team than New England, who besides Tom Brady lacks any real game breakers. To add to that, Indy will be playing at home where they haven’t lost a game all season. Don’t expect Payton to play the way he has the last two weeks and take Indianapolis to cover the 3 point spread.

The Brain Trust Conference Championship Games Picks

Current Playoff Record: 7-1

New Orleans +3 over CHICAGO

This game may be in Chicago and the weather may not be great, but the Saints are a better team. They have better players, are better coached and play harder than the Bears. On top of all that, the Saints have Drew Brees and the Bears have Rex Grossman. The Bears defense is not the same without Mike Brown and Tommy Harris and will have a hard time stopping New Orleans. The Saints are your NFC Champions.

INDIANAPOLIS -3 over New England

The Colts have no choice, but to win this game. This is their chance. The Patriots didn’t even belong on the same field as the Chargers last week, but they still ended up winning the game. That was a gift. Peyton Manning won’t let that happen this week. The Colts are a better team. They beat New England the last two times they have played. The Colts have no business not winning this game.

NFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF PICKS

2007-01-13T11:45:00.000-05:00

ROUND 2: The Brain Trust vs. The PickMeister

Score one for the Bleeding Sports Brain Trust! The BT went a perfect 4-0 against the spread last weekend in the Wildcard round. BOO YA. Can’t beat that. Meanwhile, The PickMeister may need a name change after a 1-3 weekend. Ouch. All those wonderful stats and analysis the PickMeister offered and the best he could do is 1-3! Let’s just hope he feels the need to pick the opposite of The BT again this week.

Looking for some redemption, here are the PickMeister’s selections for the second week of the NFL Playoffs. Home team is CAPS.

PickMeister’s NFL Divisional Playoff Picks

Indianapolis + 3.5 over BALTIMORE

Baltimore had a very impressive 2006 season, putting together a record totaling 13 victories and only 3 loses. But let’s face it, they had a cake schedule. Only 3 of their wins this year were against teams over .500, and only two of which made the playoffs. Although Baltimore’s #1 ranked defense has been magnificent all year, I am not sure they will be able to hold up against Indianapolis’ pass offense. In addition, if Indy’s D even plays half as well as they did last weekend there’s no way Jamal Lewis, who’s only averaging 3.6 yards per carry, and the Baltimore offense will be able to pull this one off. Take Indianapolis in one of the rare occasions when they are actually getting the points.

NEW ORLEANS -5 over Philadelphia

The only time these two teams met this year New Orleans pulled out a 27-24 victory on a John Carney last second field goal. Don’t expect this rematch to be as close. New Orleans possesses so many weapons that it will be near impossible for Philadelphia to stop them. To make problems worse Philly will be without their best corner Lito Sheppard, who suffered a dislocated elbow in last weeks win against the Giants. Not good news when you’re facing the NFL’s leading passer. Look for Brees and the Saints to win and cover the 5 point spread.

CHICAGO -8.5 over Seattle

Expect this game to be very similar to their week 4 meeting when Chicago dominated in a 37-6 blowout. What better defense can a struggling QB ask for than one whose secondary consists of a rookie and loan officer who hasn’t played in over a year. Wouldn’t surprise me if Grossman called Romo thanking him for not being able to handle a snap. Sure Alexander is one of the best backs in the league, but he was injured for most of the season and has to face a fierce Bears defense. Seattle is lucky to even be playing this weekend after barely escaping Dallas. But now they are up against a much better team in Chicago and I don’t see this one being close. Take Chicago even though they are giving 8.5.

New England +5 over SAN DIEGO

What a great match-up. This one should be the best game of the week, and maybe even the whole playoffs. Both teams possess great offenses as well as defenses. San Diego was the NFL’s best team only losing 2 games all season. LT had another MVP like season rushing for over 1800 yards and finding the endzone a total of 31 times. And if Phillip Rivers can just be the quarterback he’s been all year and not make mistakes, San Diego is damn hard to beat. New England, on the other hand, just doesn’t lose in the playoffs. Tom Brady is unreal, with a playoff record 11-1 and only 5 INTs in 401 attempts. There’s no one more clutch in these situations than this guy. Expect this game to be very close, and therefore you have to take New England getting the 5 points.

Brain Trust Picks for NFL Divisional Playoffs

Indianapolis +3.5 over BALTIMORE

The BT has been warned not to take the Colts over the Ravens. But why would the BT listen to anybody? The BT was 4-0 last week! The BT just hasn’t seen anything from the Ravens to warrant all this praise they have been receiving. Yes, the defense is great, but Peyton Manning is better. On offense, the Ravens don’t run the ball effectively, don’t have any game breakers in the passing game, and were nearly shutout by the Bengals. Even the Colts defense can play with these guys. One more thing, the Colts are playing in Baltimore not New England. The Colts will score points and they will score more of them than the Ravens. That means the Colts win.

Philadelphia +5 over New Orleans

The NFC peaks this weekend. Forget about next week, this game is for the NFC Championship. Write it down now, the winner of this game is going to the Super Bowl. These are the two best teams in the NFC right now and either one will go into Chicago next weekend and blow the doors off the Bears. There is no doubt about it. Not even worth debating. While New England-San Diego is the most anticipated game of the weekend, this game may turn out to be the best. A playoff game, in primetime, in New Orleans – can’t beat that. Even watching on television, you couldn’t help but get pumped up watching the Saints home opener against Atlanta on a Monday night. This game should have the same energy. It’s tough to see the Saints losing this game even with the Eagles playing so well. New Orleans should win, but it feels like a field goal game.

CHICAGO -8.5 over Seattle

The site of the NFC consolation game is in Chicago. Rex Grossman has had 2 weeks to sober up from his New Years Eve binger and can probably manage to hand the ball off to Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson without too much of an issue. The Seahawks should have lost last week, just as the Brain Trust predicted, and will make enough mistakes for the Chicago defense and special teams to control the game and cover the spread.

New England +5 over SAN DIEGO

The Brain Trust has been telling people for weeks that San Diego is going to win the Super Bowl. The Brain Trust would love to see it, for no other reason than to see the Chargers send a championship ring to the NY Giants front office. One problem. This is the one team the Chargers did not want to see if their first game of the postseason. It’s not that Tomlinson won’t play well or the Charger’s defense will struggle against Tom Brady. The problem isn’t even Marty Ball. The problem is Philip Rivers. He already acts like a kid who forgot to take his Ritalin. The Patriots are going to through so many looks and packages at him his head might explode. This game is going to be close and the Chargers can only rely on Tomlinson so much. Rivers is going to have to make a play at some point. The BT just doesn’t see that happening. Take the Patriots getting points.

NFL PLAYOFF PICKS

2007-01-06T11:01:00.000-05:00

It’s playoff time. The NFL Playoffs start today. What better way for Bleeding Sports to celebrate than with a little healthy picks competition.

Bleeding Sports welcomes The PickMeister to challenge the Bleeding Sports Brain Trust in a little NFL Playoff Pick'em. Bleeding Sports will be keeping score throughout the playoffs in this winner take all battle for illegal sports gambling supremacy.

So here we go. It’s the NFL Wild Card Playoffs. Let the games begins!

Home Teams in CAPS.

The PickMeister's Picks

Kansas City +7 over INDIANAPOLIS

Indianapolis has only lost 4 games all year, but 3 of which have come within the last 5 weeks of the season. Indy’s defense has given up over 190 rushing yards in each of these loses, including the 375 they gave up to Jacksonville when they were blown out 44-17. Will this pathetic defense, ranked dead last in NFL against the run, be able to hold up enough against the NFL’s 2^nd leading rusher to cover the 7 point spread? No way! Take Larry Johnson and Kansas City getting the points.

SEATTLE -2.5 over Dallas

Both these teams have been unimpressive in the ending weeks of the regular season, each losing 3 out of their last 4 games. Dallas, however, has not won a road playoff game since 1992. Don’t expect this year to be any different. Look for the Seattle crowd, or speakers, to be extra loud for this game and disrupt Romo and the Dallas offense. Take Seattle to cover the 2 ½ point spread.

New York Jets +8.5 over NEW ENGLAND

Like the Colts, New England has also only lost 4 games this season. But 3 out of these 4 losses were at home and 1 of which was against, you guessed it, the New York Jets. What about the other time these two AFC East teams faced each other? New England won by 7. The Jets have been on a tear since their week 9 bye, winning 6 out of their last 8 and only giving up a little over 12 points per game. Look for Mangenius and the Jets to be prepared for New England’s every move. Take New York getting the points.

New York Giants +7 over PHILADELPHIA

Some may say this is the easiest game of the week to pick, I however find it the most difficult. The Giants have proved to be the most inconsistent team in the league, leaving us all to wonder which Giants team is going show up. The first time these two teams met, the Giants won in overtime 30-24. The second meeting told a different story, with Philadelphia winning 36-22 in a game that was closer than the score suggests. The Giants defense is atrocious, but luckily for them Philly’s offense isn’t very intimidating either. On the other side of the ball, Tiki Barber is one of the best backs in the league and can have huge game against a defensive squad that has struggled all year against the run. I don’t believe Philly will be able to cover the 7 point spread. Take the Giants getting the points.

The Brain Trust Picks

INDIANAPOLIS -7 over Kansas City

The one thing that the Colts have been able to do in the playoffs is crush teams at home in the Wild Card round. Just ask Denver. The Chiefs have a shot by riding Larry Johnson, but it’s tough to see the Colts not winning this game by at least 7.

Dallas +2.5 over SEATTLE

As the PickMeister mentioned, both teams have played poorly as of late. Dallas has played well in Seattle the last couple of years losing last year on a patented Bledsoe interception late and winning 2 years ago in that memorable Monday night affair. In addition, this Seattle team is more like the 9-7 team from 2 years ago than the team that went to the Super Bowl last season. That team 2 years ago won the NFC West then lost at home to the Rams in the playoffs. The same thing will happen this year. Cowboys win outright.

NEW ENGLAND -8.5 over New York Jets

Initially, the Brain Trust thought about picking the Jets. Then the PickMeister took the Jets and the Brain Trust began thinking more clearly. The Jets aren’t a very good football team. Yes, they won at New England this season, but it was their only win all year over a winning team. New England will win the game and cover in the process.

New York Giants +7 over PHILADELPHIA

It’s tough for the Brain Trust to ever pick against the Giants. So why start now! Based on the way both of these teams have been playing there is no reason to think the Eagles won’t cover. However, the first game was close and so was the second game if Tiki bats down the ball on the Cole INT return. It’s tough to see this not being a close game and the Brain Trust still believes the Giants are the better team.

BC Not Big Time

2007-01-02T13:47:00.000-05:00

A belated commentary on the state of the Boston College football program.

The school recently hired a new football coach to replace the departed Tom O'Brien. News of O'Brien's jumping ship to ACC rival NC State surely made the Super Fans jump with joy. No more inexplicable losses to lesser opponents. Goodbye to that conservative, boring offense. Good riddance to O'Brien's no nonsense, no fun culture. No more trips to small market Charlotte, NC for the Car Quest Bowl or Car Care Bowl or Car Wash Bowl. Nope. It's time for a new era for college football in Chestnut Hill. Boston College is a program on the rise. After escaping from the Big East to join the ACC and pouring tons of money into a new athletics facility (all for its football program), it was only logical that the school go out and reel in a big time football coach. A sexy name that will lure recruits and national attention to Chestnut Hill. It's a new era for college athletics in New England....

It's The Jeff Jagodzinski Era.

EH.

The problem with BC is that they want to be a big time football program. They joined the ACC for one reason and one reason only: to make more money on the football program. However, there is a stark reality that the administration fails to understand. Boston College does not have what it takes to be a contender. The school doesn't have the size or the community support to be an elite program. Year after year, Bowl committees pass on the Eagles in favor of conference rivals with worse records because BC can't generate enough tickets sales. Boston College simply doesn't garner the same support from the surrounding community that most other ACC schools do. However, the even bigger problem is the program can't attract the elite talent to play football at Boston College.

It's an uphill battle to build a consistent winner in such an environment. And if anything can be said about the Eagles it's that they have been amazingly consistent. They boast the longest bowl winning streak in the nation. Accomplishments like that, if nothing else, demonstrate that Tom O'Brien was taken for granted as head coach. Boston College is not on an even playing with most other schools in the ACC when it comes to recruiting. The academic requirements at Boston College weed out many of the top high school players. Yet instead of finishing near the bottom of the ACC with the likes of Duke (a school that runs into the same recruiting challenges), BC has consistently been able to compete with Virginia Tech, Florida State, and Miami. Whether the Big East or the ACC, the Eagles have finished in the top half of the conference standings year in and year out. They do it with less talent than most of the teams they play against. They win because they are well coached.

So now Tom O'Brien is gone. Likely frustrated by his low salary and tired of the lack of respect he and the program received from both fans and foes. The administration at BC was also ready to move on. The coach had taken the team as far he could and the school didn't hide their displeasure with that fact the O'Brien wasn't much involved (let alone seen) on campus. It was time for a change.

The coaching search was on. You heard names like Mark Whipple, Steve Mariucci, Kevin Gilbride, Jim Fassell, and even Doug Flutie. When the dust settled, BC decided on a cheaper....oh, excuse me....an up and coming, lesser named coach to lead its football program.

Boston College needed to shell out some cash for a more established coach to lead the program. If the administration really believes that BC football is among the elite then you need a name that can compete with the Butch Davis' and Charlie Weiss' of the world. Now maybe Jagodzinski and the "very dynamic offense" he is promising to bring to Chestnut Hill will attract some top notch talent, but that remains to be seen. While Notre Dame immediately became a force on the recruiting trail simply by hiring a known commodity as coach, it will take time for Jagodzinski and BC establish themselves. During that time, Butch Davis will be building a powerhouse at UNC, Miami and Florida State are more likely to turn their programs around than fall flat, and O'Brien will build a consistent winner at NC State.

Boston College needed to attract more talented recruits to the program. They needed to draw more attention to collegiate athletics in the Boston area. They needed to create a buzz around the football program. They needed an identity to distinguish themselves among the crowd in the ACC.

They needed a Name.