NCAA Tournament Pool Round 1 Day 2

Ladies and Gentlemen:

So the first round is complete, and unfortunately day 2 was nowhere near as exciting as day 1.  Only 1 lower seeded team was victorious (more on that later), meaning chalk rules the day.  Let’s hope Round 2 starts off with a bang.

We have solved the nameless bracket, and I found 1 bracket which was more than timely.  My apologies to Karen Katz as her missing bracket was my doing, and not hers, and she even included her name and e-mail address, as per the rules.

Speaking of rules, I just have to include the body of an e-mail I received from Captain Kyle M. Meisner, an Operational Law Attorney with Army Special Operations Aviation Command – and I hope that she appreciates the shout-out and doesn’t put me on any type of “watch list”. 

“Please find my husband’s WINNING entry for the Tournament attached.  He apologizes for not sending it in himself and making his wife (me) do it for him, but those new-fangled printers and scanners are confusing to him, especially when he is on a crunch to, you know, get to the actual games.

In other news, you may owe me 15-20 minutes of my life back because Kareem forced me to listed to your ‘fantastic’ rules last night.  Yawn.”

You have a good one Kareem Montague, if she is willing to call both you and me out.  My wife and bracket participant Hannah Sosa, agrees with your wife’s entire sentiment.  Glad you at least thought the rules were as funny as I did typing them.

We lost no champions yesterday, so the champions in play remain the same.  As a reminder, he champions selected this year are:  Arizona, Duke, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Notre Dame, SMU, Villanova, Virginia, Wisconsin.  Bold teams remain in the tournament.

For yesterday's games we had only 2 unanimous selections, duke and Gonzaga.  Yes that means somebody picked Coastal Carolina over Wisconsin.  Tough break Braeden Helland.    We had 11 entries select Dayton, with three of the picks being guaranteed.  The pick of the day goes to Kim Bancsi Lumpkin 2 of West Palm Beach, Florida, Adam Jorgensen of Palm Beach Gardens, FL and Katie Butler Litsey of Redondon Beach, CA.  Katie correctly selected 15 of the 16 games from yesterday as well, with Davidson being her only downfall.  Davidson – by the way – was an extremely popular pick.

The antithesis of the pick of the day goes to two separate entries:  Jason Spuhler of Acworth, GA and Albert Harper III of Pahokee, Florida.  Jason Spuhler simply forgot to select a winner in the Wichita State – Indiana game and Albert Harper III selected Robert Morris.  Now Tournament Host, you may be thinking, how can that be if you said that Duke was a unanimous pick.  If you are thinking that, and chose to ask me, I would answer you by saying that Albert selected Robert Morris to win the San Diego State – St. John’s game.  Boy would that have been an upset!

Have fun watching the second round.  Remember today’s game count for two points each, plus bonuses.

As always, please double check your math as I may have missed something.  I corrected a few ballots from yesterday’s results, as yes, I even double-check myself.

Now, on to the standings.  Ties, for now, are listed alphabetically.

1.  Kingfish Rod Parham - 45

2.  Carolyn Fowler/Jane Reynolds – 39

       Silas Nichols - 38

4.  Colleen Hamilton – 37

5.  Karen Katz – 37   

6.  Kim Bancsi Lumpkin 2 – 36

7.  Adam Jorgensen 35

     Katie Butler Litsey - 35

     George Walks 1 - 35

10.  Jacey Fowler 2 - 34

      Jessica Koch - 34

       Ashley Poer 1 – 34

       George Walks 2 - 34

14.  Chad Upson – 33

15.  Arlene Hopps - 32

      Si Nichols 1 - 32

      Si Nichols 2 - 32

     Steven Usma 4 - 32

     George Walks 5 - 32

      Jonathan Wasserman - 32

21.  Alvaro Gonzalez - 31

      Greg Kummerlen - 31

      Stacia Wilkaitis 1 - 31

24.  Albert Harper III - 30

       Kyle Henderson 2 - 30

       Anthony LaPira - 30

       Sasha Moon – 30

      Rich Samuels 1 – 30

      Kyle Henderson 1 – 30

30.  Eric Inge - 29

       Debbie Nieman – 29

       Jane Reynolds – 29

       Rich Samuels 2 - 29

       Cheryl Spuhler - 29

       Day Yi – 29

36.  Jacey Fowler I – 28

       Martha Kroesen - 28

       Cory Mauro - 28

       Ashley Poer 2 - 28

40.  Jed Dorsey - 27

       Michael Litsey - 27

      Justin Yung - 27

43.  Matt Hopps - 26

       Mac Kroesen - 26

        Traci & Kyle Sheehan - 26

      George Walks 4 - 26

       Katie Zdrowak - 26

48.  Carolyn Fowler – 25  

       Koma Gandy - 25

       Kim Bancsi Lumpkin 1 - 25

       Rich Samuels 3 – 25

       Hannah Sosa - 25

       Brian Spatchek - 25

       Steven Usma 2 -25

       Hershey Zdrowak - 25

56.  Alex King - 24

       Sam Lozier - 24

       Kareem Montague - 24

       Jason Schultz - 24

       Steven Usma 1 - 24

       Stacia Wilkaitis 2 - 24

62.  Serena Davila - 23

       Vic LaPira - 23

      Ty Leatherman - 23

       Jen Mahoney - 23

      Trenton May  23

       Jason Spuhler - 23

68.  Brent Bellinger - 22

       Chris Kroesen - 22

       Noel Martinez - 22

71.  Abigail Sosa - 21

       Steven Usma 3 - 21

       Amy Zdrowak – 21

      Keith Zdrowak – 21

75.  Steffan Alexander - 20

       Matt Nieman - 20

       George Walks 3 - 20

       Joshua Zdrowak - 20

79.  Erin Devlin - 19

       Braeden Helland – 19

81.  Barkley Sosa - 17

        Pepe Sosa - 17

NCAA Tournament - Round 1 Day 1

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Welcome back to my gazillionth annual NCAA Tournament Pool.

Every year I am amazed at how many people fail to follow the rules.  Now newbies to the pool I can understand missing something here and there, but for you veterans the mistakes are unbelieveable and deserve to be called out.  For example, Vic LaPira and Ty Leatherman failed to put their respective names on their brackets.  I figured out Ty's because she had Duke winning it all - homer.

I also still have two nameless bracket which I am including in the standings hoping that someone claims it soon.  If you see someone missing, please contact them and me to try to determine the missing bracket.

All told we have about 84 entries.  I say "about" because one entrant, Alison Parker, went old school and mailed her entries.  I do not know whether to expect multiple brackets from that household or not.  They will be added once received.  I also received an unnamed entry which I am still searching for the owner.  Once that is identified, it will be added as well.

We had 10 total champions picked, with the majority of the people selecting Kentucky.  All of the champions that remain will be listed in bold for the remainder of updates.  The champions selected this year are:  Arizona, Duke, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Notre Dame, SMU, Villanova, Virginia, Wisconsin.

You read that correctly folks.  We have already had two champions eliminated on the first day.  The lucky entries were Ashley Poer 2 who selected Iowa State and Erin Devlin who selected SMU.  Now Erin I understand, as she is an alumna, but who knows what on earth Ashley was thinking.

For yesterday's games we had 4 unanimous selections, those being Arizona, Kentucky, Notre Dame and Villanova.  Good thing for our entries all of those teams won.  If those were the unanimous picks, that means we had winners and losers for each of the remaining 12 games, including 1 that selected UAB.  So the honor of the pick of the day goes to Kingfish Rod Parham of Atlanta, Georgia.  Honorable Mention to those that earned multiple bonuses from the UAB, Georgia State and UCLA.  On the other end are Barkley Sosa and Myself, but yuck it up now, as I will be having the last laugh.

I am referring to yesterday's action as Round 1, Day 1 because that is what it really is, and not the Second Round which is the moniker the NCAA gives to the yesterday's and today's games.  The NCAA, however, doesn't have a great reputation with me, so I will do what I want.

As always, please double check your math as I may have missed something, or even missed your "guaranteed upset" since I had to go back and forth with several of you to make sure I knew which pick was your "guaranteed upset".

I will send out PayPal and Google Wallet information on my next post.

Now, on to the standings.  Ties, for now, are listed alphabetically.

1.  Kingfish Rod Parham - 33
2.  Colleen Hamilton - 25
3.  Ashley Poer 1 - 23
     Chad Upson - 23
     George Walks 1 - 23
6.  George Walks 2 - 22
     George Walks 5 - 22
8.  Steven Usma 4 - 21
9.  Carolyn Fowler/Jane Reynolds - 20
     Rich Samuels 1 - 20
11.  Si Nichols 1 - 19
       Silas Nichols - 19
       Unknown Bracket  (Jessica Koch?)- 19
14.  Arlene Hopps - 18
      Stacia Wilkaitis 1 - 18
16.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 17
      Sasha Moon - 17
      Si Nichols 2 - 17
       Jonathan Wasserman - 17
      Justin Yung - 17
       Amy Zdrowak - 17
22.  Martha Kroesen - 16
       Debbie Nieman - 16
       Rich Samuels 2 - 16
25.  Jacey Fowler I - 15
       Mac Kroesen - 15
       Michael Litsey - 15
       Ashley Poer 2 - 15
       Jane Reynolds - 15
       Rich Samuels 3 - 15
       Day Yi - 15
32.  Jacey Fowler 2 - 14
        Kyle Henderson 1 - 14
       Cheryl Spuhler - 14
35.  Greg Kummerlen - 13
        Traci & Kyle Sheehan - 13
37.  Carolyn Fowler - 12
       Matt Hopps - 12
       Kim Bancsi Lumpkin - 12
       Brian Spatchek - 12
       Steven Usma 1 - 12
42.  Koma Gandy - 11
       Alvaro Gonzalez - 11
       Albert Harper III - 11
       Adam Jorgensen - 11
       Alex King - 11
       Anthony LaPira - 11
       Vic LaPira - 11
       Kim Bancsi Lumpkin 2 - 11
       Jen Mahoney - 11
       Kareem Montague - 11
       Jason Schultz - 11
       Hannah Sosa - 11
      George Walks 4 - 11
      Keith Zdrowak - 11
56.  Brent Bellinger - 10
       Serena Davila - 10
       Eric Inge - 10
       Chris Kroesen - 10
      Ty Leatherman - 10
       Katie Butler Litsey - 10
       Sam Lozier - 10
       Cory Mauro - 10
       Jason Spuhler - 10
       Stacia Wilkaitis 2 - 10
       Hershey Zdrowak - 10
       Katie Zdrowak - 10
68.  Braeden Helland - 9
       Steven Usma 2 - 9
       Steven Usma 3 - 9
       George Walks 3 - 9
       Joshua Zdrowak - 9
73.  Erin Devlin - 8
       Jed Dorsey - 8
       Noel Martinez - 8
       Abigail Sosa - 8
77.  Steffan Alexander - 7
       Matt Nieman - 7
79.  Trenton May  6
        Barkley Sosa - 6
        Pepe Sosa - 6

Tremendous Losses in the Sports World

The last few weeks have brought tremendous losses in the sports world.  Honestly, some of the great players, coaches, personalities and groundbreakers in sports.  In alphabetical order, we have lost:  Ernie Banks, Billy Casper, Stuart Scott, Charlie Sifford, Dean Smith, and Jerry Tarkanian.  And with Anthony Mason in dire straits and fighting for his life at age 48, we here at We Make It Rain just want to pay a collective homage to these amazing athletes, coaches and personalities.

I feel that all of the tribute pieces on television and in writing have gone over the collective histories of these gentlemen, so I will refrain from doing the same thing, but I just will give some mention to each.

Ernie Banks - Mr. Cub, had 512 home runs, including leading the league twice.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977 in his first year on the ballot.

Billy Casper - He is 7th all-time in PGA Tour wins, including 3 majors.  He has scored more points than any other American in Ryder Cup history.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1978,  

Stuart Scott - Although he is widely credited with bringing an urban twist to sports broadcasting, he definitely brought youth, excitement and charisma.

Charlie Sifford - He was the first African-American to play on the PGA Tour.  He won twice, and he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004

Dean Smith - Four time national coach of the year, winning two national championships.  Only person that could keep Michael Jordan under 20 points per game.  He was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Jerry Tarkanian - He won 706 games at the collegiate level, while making UNLV a national powerhouse.  Won a national title.  He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2013.

If people are superstitious, and believe that famous people die in threes, then we are in for some more losses in the sports world, if we categorize the above by like groups.

For instance:

North Carolina alums - (1) Stuart Scott; (2) Dean Smith; (3) _____________?

Basketball coaches - (1) Dean Smith; (2) Jerry Tarkanian; (3) ____________?

Basketball - (1) Dean Smith; (2) Jerry Tarkanian; (3) ____________ (Anthony Mason)?

Groundbreakers - (1) Ernie Banks; (2) Charlie Sifford; (3) Stuart Scott

Golf - (1) Charlie Sifford; (2) Billy Casper; (3) Tiger Woods' golf game

Rest in Peace knowing that you brought great joy to sports fans everywhere!

End of an Era? Not just yet...

I am fascinated by the results of the five New Year's Day bowl games. Not because your boy Sinickal had EVERYTHING wrong. After all, everyone had most of them wrong. And for those of you claiming that you did have the SEC going winless, Florida State getting blown out, and the Big Ten going 3-1, where were you on New Year's Eve? I don't remember hearing the trash talk before the games at the volume that I am hearing it now. And if you did believe it before you saw it, you were in a very small minority of sports fans. And none of you said anything!

Okay, back to football. What the hell happened yesterday? I am not quite sure yet, but I am going to classify it as more aberration than evolution. Let's discuss this in the form of questions and answers...

1. Is the SEC over rated?

No, I don't believe it is. I still think that the SEC is a formidable conference and either the best or second best in the country. If I were a school in the Big Ten, I would not start scheduling SEC teams for homecoming just yet. I get that five of the top teams in the conference lost in big spots over two days, but lets look as some of the facts regarding the conferences...

According to fbschedules.com, here are the non-conference winning percentages for the power five conferences against power five teams prior to conference play this year.

Big Ten - 31% 
Big 12 - 40% 
ACC - 44% 
SEC - 71%
PAC 12 - 75% 

With regard to the bowl season, the current record for the SEC is 5-5. By comparison, the Big Ten is 5-4, The ACC is 5-6, and the Big 12 is 1-4. The star of the group is the Pac 12 which is currently 5-1.

So, let's not consider the SEC on the same level as the Sun Belt conference just yet. I am pretty sure that the depth of the conference is real and that the top teams will be just fine.

2. Certainly, we can agree that this is the end of the  current SEC run, correct?

Again, I am not sure that I would stretch that far based on a 40 hour snapshot. Over the last decade, the SEC has shown in wins and in talent that this current run of dominance is not a fluke. Again, here are the facts...

The SEC has produced 8 of the last 10 National Champions, including 7 in a row from 2006 to 2012. This is a near impossible run in which 4 different teams from the conference won more than half of the national championships awarded in the BCS era!

Looking at the NFL draft over the last few years gives the following. According to NFL.com, the SEC has had:

• The most players drafted in each of the last 8 years. 49 players were drafted in the most recent NFL draft.
• The most players drafted in the 1st round in each of the last 4 years. In all four years, at least 10 players have gone in the 1st round. By comparison, the only other conference with as many as 8 during that time is the Big 12.
• The number of 1st round picks by conference in the last five drafts are
• SEC - 50
• Big 12 - 27
• ACC - 21
• Big 10 - 18
• Pac 12 - 17
• Big East - 6
• The total number of picks by conference in the last five drafts are
• SEC - 241
• ACC - 169
• Big 12 - 150
• Big 10 - 154
• Pac 12 - 124
• Big East - 73

It is noted that conference realignment would increase the numbers for the Big East schools that moved to the ACC, Big 10 and Big 12. Despite that, it is difficult to reload over and over again with the amount of talent leaving the SEC every year. And it is an obscene amount of talent!

3. Okay, then what does it mean that Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss all lost in a matter of 40 hours?

I am going to concentrate on Alabama and, to a lesser degree LSU here. Specifically, let's look at two things a little more closely here.

First, go back and look at the rosters of Alabama and LSU from their 2011 regular season game. As of the 2014 NFL Draft, 42 players from those two rosters were selected by teams. By the time all of the players from the rosters have completed their colleges runs, it is estimated that 70 could be drafted. Let me repeat that, 70 players drafted from two rosters in one college game in an "over rated" conference! If you want to see the names and some mind blowing stats, check out this cbssports.com link.

Second, based on information from NFL.com, Alabama has been a talent pipeline for the NFL over the last few years. We can agree that Alabama's biggest weakness was in its secondary this year. It simply gave up too many big plays. That is just one glaring problem caused by the amount of talent lost recently. Consider that Alabama has had 9 defensive backs drafted in the last 5 years, with 5 in the 1st round. The Crimson Tide has also gone 5 consecutive years with multiple 1st round draft picks. That has never been done before. By the way, I could have done the same thing with LSU and it would have been as impressive.

I am not going to say that these schools shouldn't be able to reload, I am saying that sometimes it takes a little time to overcome significant loss. Again, I wouldn't start loading up these teams to enhance your non-conference record.

4. Fine, you can admit that the Big Ten is a much better conference than you thought, right?

Hell. And. No.

Ohio State is really good and Urban Meyer is simply a great football coach. Michigan State is consistently the second best team in that conference and a really good football team. The rest of the Big Ten is dog shit and you can have it.

5. How do we know that the SEC was that good over the last decade, since the playoff system clearly exposed Alabama?

I would simply go back and look at the talent produced. It was not an accident that SEC was pounding anyone it faced when it mattered. This year, the playoff format matched the four best teams in the country. No one, and I mean no one argued that Alabama was not one of them. Even those of you who think that the SEC is over rated as a conference thought Alabama belonged in the Final Four teams.

6. Is this the end of SEC dominance?

Let's not treat the last 48 hours with Twitter gloves. The SEC is not going to stop recruiting or simply not try anymore because its top teams lost in bowl games this year. Dominance in college football is most often ended by external means. That is, scandal and sanctions. I don't believe that the entire conference is going to be placed under probation anytime soon. Therefore, you can continue to fear the talent showing up at those schools

7. Is there anything else you want to talk about?

Yes!! In a separate post, we are going to talk about trash talking among fans and fan bases. The trolling that you currently see and hear is not trash talk. It is gloating and post-game posturing. That is different. If you are confident enough in your team to trash talk and tongue wag, then do it right. Damn, I hate people that hide before and during a game then tell you how great they are after the fact!

Picks of the Week

An OK week, but not enough to get me out of the red for the season.  The end of this year has been ridiculous.  I  mean, really, a 12-6 game with no touchdowns?  Crazy.

As  a reminder, each pick is using the spread (straight up is for wussies), and the betting line is from the same website each week as of the time of typing the entry. I keep a running tally of my record, plus my winnings/losses. We will pretend that I bet $100 on each game, with one game each week going for $250. Winnings/Losses will be calculated including a 10% vig, which just makes the math that much simpler. Now, on to the picks.

Jacksonville Jaguars -3 1/2 v. Tennessee Titans
Who would have ever thought that the Jaguars would be favored, even at home.  Well that happens when this year's Titans come to town.  "I will take Jacksonville and give up points", is not something anyone has said in the last 6 years.

Philadelphia Eagles -7 1/2 at Washington Whatever their Name is Going to Be
The dreaded road favorite, but Washington is still in shambles and Chip Kelly will have the Eagles - who are playing for their playoff lives - rolling.

San Francisco 49ers pick 'em v. San Diego Chargers
San Francisco trying to stay alive for the playoffs, although it will take a miracle.  I just think Phillip Rivers is hurting, or something else is not quite right with him.  Of course, San Francisco is a high speed train wreck themselves.

Minnesota Vikings + 6 1/2 at Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins seemed like playoff contenders just a few weeks ago, but now, they look like they cannot get out of their own way.

Carolina Panthers no line v. Cleveland Browns
Most likely no line due to Cam Newton's unknown status.  Thus, I will be picking this one straight up - and taking Carolina and their experienced quarterback (whether it be Newton or Anderson) over what I saw last week from Manziel.

Detroit Lions - 9 at Chicago Bears
Forget the regular rules about road favorites as the Bears stink at home, and they stink in general.  They have given up.

Baltimore Ravens -5 1/2 at Houston Texans 
Are the Texans going to be starting their 4th or 5th string quarterback?

New Orleans Saints -6 v. Atlanta Falcons
Yes last week's win was against the Bears, but the Falcons likewise have no defense, will either be playing without Julio Jones or with a hobbled Julio Jones, and I trust Sean Payton in a big game.

New England Patriots -10 at New York Jets
This is my week of road favorites.

Pittsburgh Steelers -3 v. Kansas City Chiefs
Pittsburgh - despite losing to Tampa Bay and the Jets, clinches a playoff spot with a win.

Green Bay Packers -10 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Just kill me now.  There is no way I have a good week this week.

New York Giants +6 at St. Louis Rams
This could be a 9-7 type of game.

Indianapolis Colts +3 at Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys really need Demarco Murray.  This could be a 49-47 type of game.

Buffalo Bills -6 at Oakland Raiders
The Bills are on a bit of a roll.

Seattle Seahawks -7 1/2 at Arizona Cardinals
Ryan Lindley has never thrown an NFL touchdown.

Denver Broncos -3 at Cincinnati Bengals
Well, I might as well go all the way picking road teams.

BIG BET OF THE WEEK

Jacksonville Jaguars -3 1/2 v. Tennessee Titans
Who would have ever thought that the Jaguars would be favored, even at home.  Well that happens when this year's Titans come to town.  "I will take Jacksonville and give up points", is not something anyone has said in the last 6 years.


Last Week: 7-8-1
Year-to-Date: 113-104-5
Big Bet Last Week: 0-1
Big Bet Year to Date: 6-9
Winnings (Losses) Last Week: ($345)
Winnings (Losses) Year to Date: ($950)

Picks

A second really bad week.  Boy has this season turned weird, but honestly, who saw what Carolina did in New Orleans coming?  These two weeks have been really bad to the point that I am really upside down on the season.  Hopefully we can get back on track this week.

As  a reminder, each pick is using the spread (straight up is for wussies), and the betting line is from the same website each week as of the time of typing the entry. I keep a running tally of my record, plus my winnings/losses. We will pretend that I bet $100 on each game, with one game each week going for $250. Winnings/Losses will be calculated including a 10% vig, which just makes the math that much simpler. Now, on to the picks.

St. Louis Rams -4 v. Arizona Cardinals
As I have stated a million times before, the visiting team has had a lot of problems on Thursday night, plus the Cardinals have not won on a Thursday since 1948.

Pittsburgh Steelers -2 at Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons offense has been soaring, but Julio Jones is not Julio Jones due to injury, and the Falcons might be grounded.  Roethlisberger, Bell and Brown pick apart Atlanta's defense.

Jacksonville Jaguars +14 at Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore wins, but by 2 touchdowns?  I don't think so.

Carolina Panthers -3 1/2 v. Tampa Bay Buccanneers
Perhaps Derek Anderson (starting for the injured Cam Newton) can make the Browns wish he was named the starter for them.  He is 1-0 this year as a starter.

Cincinnati Bengals +1 at Cleveland Browns
I cannot figure out what is going on with the Browns, but Manziel is not going to win his opening game is he?  Never mind, I am changing this.  Cleveland Browns -1 v. Cincinnati Bengals.

Houston Texans + 6 1/2 at Indianapolis Colts
I fully expect Indianapolis to win, but a couple of late drives by the Texans (and Harvard grad Ryan Fitzpatrick) covers the spread.

Oakland Raiders +10 at Kansas City Chiefs
Oakland is playing its best football of the season, and Jamal Charles is hobbling.  I will definitely take the points, but this could end up being an upset.

New England Patriots -7 1/2 v. Miami Dolphins
The Patriots are cruising, and this game could crush the Dolphins' playoff chances.

New York Giants -6 1/2 v. Washington Whatever Their Name is Going to Be
Washington is a mess, and the Giants are not playing awful.

Denver Broncos -4 at San Diego Chargers
Denver's newly found running game makes it the most dangerous offense in the league, and the toughest for which to prepare.

Tennessee Titans +2 1/2 v. New York Jets
Horrible game.  I pick Tennessee because they are at home and because I want to type "Mettenberger".

Detroit Lions -7 1/2 v. Minnesota Vikings
The Lions keep cruising along.

Seattle Seahawks -10 v. San Francisco 49ers
The Seahawks now look like the team that won the Super Bowl last year, and the 49ers look like a team that won the Super Bowl in 1984, if all of those players were still on the roster 30 years later.

Dallas Cowboys +3 at Philadelphia Eagles
This could be an old-fashioned barn burner.  I will take all the points I can find.

Chicago Bears +3 at New Orleans
I have no idea why, but both of these teams have to be the two biggest disappointments in the league this year.

BIG BET OF THE WEEK

Green Bay Packers -4 1/2 at Buffalo Bills
The Bills played the Broncos to within 1 touchdown, but the Broncos offense has changed tremendously.  I don't expect the Packers to have much trouble in Buffalo.


Last Week: 5-10-1
Year-to-Date: 106-96-4
Big Bet Last Week: 0-1
Big Bet Year to Date: 6-8
Winnings (Losses) Last Week: ($765)
Winnings (Losses) Year to Date: ($605)

Picks of the Week

Boy every time I get cocky and post it on here, I just get annihilated on that week's picks.  How bad, enough to almost wipe out my entire year's winnings.  It seems as if I need to just concentrate and make my pics.

As  a reminder, each pick is using the spread (straight up is for wussies), and the betting line is from the same website each week as of the time of typing the entry. I keep a running tally of my record, plus my winnings/losses. We will pretend that I bet $100 on each game, with one game each week going for $250. Winnings/Losses will be calculated including a 10% vig, which just makes the math that much simpler. Now, on to the picks.

Dallas Cowboys -3 1/2 at Chicago Bears
The visiting team has had a lot of problems on Thursday night games, however, both the Cowboys and Bears played last Thursday on Thanksgiving.  With a full week's preparation, the more talented Cowboys should win this one.

Pittsburgh Steelers +3 at Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals have started to really play well since AJ Green came back, and the Steelers have struggled a bit.  However, the Steelers have struggled against less talented teams, and this division battle should merit enough attention from Pittsburgh to at least make this one close.

New York Giants pick 'em at Tennessee Titans
This game is awful.

Washington Whatever Their New Name is Going to Be + 2 1/2 v. St. Louis Rams
Only because the Rams are road favorites.

Indianapolis Colts -3 1/2 at Cleveland Browns
OK, so I do pick some road favorites.  With the Hoyer-Manziel controversy stirring in Cleveland, Hoyer might try to make too many plays trying to impress the coaching staff, which could lead to the traveling road show that is Johnny Football.  Manziel, however, is no Luck.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers +10 at Detroit Lions
Don't kid yourself, Tampa has no chance of winning this game, but if the defense plays tough, it could be a one touchdown loss.

Jacksonville Jaguars +5 v. Houston Texans
Is it possible that the Jaguars could put together a winning streak?  Maybe not, but their defenses keeps this game close.

Miami Dolphins -2 1/2 v. Baltimore Ravens
With Haloti Ngata suspended for the rest of the year, the Dolphins have a good chance to knock one of their wild-card competitors down a notch.

New York Jets +6 at Minnesota Vikings
Another in a string of games that in no way interest me.

New Orleans Saints -10 v. Carolina Panthers
The Panthers have mailed in this season to the point where people are questioning if Cam Newton can play in this league.

Kansas City Chiefs pick 'em at Arizona Cardinals
Two very underrated, physical teams.  I look for Kansas City to win because of the steadiness of Alex Smith, which the Cardinals do not have in Drew Stanton.

Denver Broncos -10 v. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo has had a much better year than anyone has expected.  They are nowhere near as good as Broncos, especially now that C.J. Anderson has emerged as a legitimate running threat.

San Francisco 49ers -8 at Oakland Raiders
It is amazing what the return of one player (Aldon Smith) and the emergence of another (Chris Borland) can do for a team's defense.

Seattle Seahawks +1 at Philadelphia Eagles
From the Department of Redundancy Department, it is amazing what the return of one player (Bobby Wagner) can do for the defense.  Seattle is definitely starting to flex its muscle for its title defense.

New England Patriots -3 1/2 at San Diego Chargers
If San Diego was a little more consistent offensively, I would have picked them, but I never bet against Coach Belichek coming off a loss.

Green Bay Packers -13 v. Atlanta Falcons
The Patriots defense is much, much better than Atlanta's, and this game is in Green Bay.

BIG BET OF THE WEEK

Indianapolis Colts -3 1/2 at Cleveland Browns
OK, so I do pick some road favorites.  With the Hoyer-Manziel controversy stirring in Cleveland, Hoyer might try to make too many plays trying to impress the coaching staff, which could lead to the traveling road show that is Johnny Football.  Manziel, however, is no Luck.


Last Week: 6-10
Year-to-Date: 101-86-3
Big Bet Last Week: 0-1
Big Bet Year to Date: 6-7
Winnings (Losses) Last Week: ($665)
Winnings (Losses) Year to Date: $160