Saturday, November 27, 2010

KGs week 12 picks!!

Had a much better start to my weekend this time, going 3-0 on Thursday. Had the Pats, the Saints, and the Jets winning, and they finally came through. Much better last week as well. I recovered from my pitiful 5-9 showing to go 12-4. With the exception of Thanksgiving, I have never liked Thursday night football. Wrote about that last year. Check it out if you like. Anywho, 96-64 after my 12-4 week, looking to keep on the up trend.

As I mentioned, I got New England over Detroit, the Saints over Dallas, and the Jets over Cincinnati. So 3-0 already, here are the rest.

Green Bay @ Atlanta: Green Bay has been playing so great lately, and they have one of the better secondaries in the league, plus a good pass rush. Atlanta is also playing great, but I just think that Pack prove to be too much.

Pittsburgh @ Buffalo: Pittsburgh, no question. Though the Bills may make it closer than people think. They have surprised several teams that nobody really expected them to be much of a factor against.

Carolina @ Cleveland: Carolina stinks, and Cleveland has discovered a leader in Peyton Hillis. I look for Hillis to have a big day in beating up the Panthers.

Jacksonville @ NY Giants: The g-men should be able to take this one in what will be a pretty exciting game.

Minnesota @ Washington: This is one of those games where I really can't tell one way or the other. It is pretty much a coin flip for me, as both of these teams aren't playing very well. I gave it to the better running game, which is AP and the Vikes.

Tennessee @ Houston: This division is actually up for grabs for the first time in a really really long time. Both of these teams have a possibility of winning it. I think the Texans have to win this in order to keep their division title hopes alive, and I think that they will squeak it out.

Miami @ Oakland: Another interesting match up here. The Fins have been up and down, and now they're kinda banged up. They are struggling to find some really good consistent offense, and the Raiders are sort of surprising people with some good wins. I think that Oakland should be able to take care of business at home here.

Kansas City @ Seattle: Good game here, but I think KC is too much for the Seahawks in the end.

Philadelphia @ Chicago: Bears have a much better record than they rightfully should. Bad quarterback, old defense. They are going to get picked apart in this game. Lots of people have been throwing around Vick's name for MVP. I seriously hope not because I find him an absolutely reprehensible human being, but he's playing some seriously awesome football right now. Iggles, easy.

St. Louis @ Denver: Well, if you look at it, Denver should win this game. I have the Broncos picked to win, but I won't be shocked one bit if they blow this one too. I'd almost be happier if they did blow this one. The more they lose, the faster the boy king, who apparently wants to be so much like Bill Bellichick that he will even cheat the same way that he does, will get run out of town. At any rate, I pick the Broncos, but secretly hope that they will lose.

Tampa Bay @ Baltimore: Baltimore has let some teams stick around this year, which isn't something that they have a history of doing. Their defense hasn't been nearly as dominant as in the past, so they could have their hands full against the Bucs. Full or not, they are still a group of veterans who have been there and done that, and will end up with a W against the Bucs.

San Diego @ Indianapolis: Another tough one for me to pick. Colts are favored, and are playing at home. Colts have Peyton Manning, whom I almost NEVER bet against. Colts are, however, quite banged up and are without several of their weapons. Colts have also always had issues beating San Diego, no matter how much better they actually are than them. San Diego also has the #1 offense and defense in the league. Put all those things together, I have to pick the Chargers. I hate doing it, because I despise Phillip Rivers and Norv Turner, but that's just how it is.

San Francisco @ Arizona: This has become kind of a who cares type of game. Both teams are out of any realistic type of contention for anything. It's hard to pick this one. Tweedle Dee, or Tweedle Dumb? I'll simply take the 49ers because they are the only of these two teams that have played with any type of desperation this year. The cards have pretty much been like a balloon very quickly deflating. With the same sound as well.

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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Vancouver Woes

The Avs are having issues in Vancouver. Not just troubles of the winning kind either. Though the Avs just did lose tonight, 4-2, they lost a bunch more than just a game. For the second time in as many trips to Vancouver, the Avs lost goalie Craigh Anderson, this time to an apparent groin injury. Then, later in the game, Adam Foote went down with a leg injury that sure didn't look too nice in the replay. A knee to knee incident where you immediately saw that Foote couldn't support his weight anymore, and had to be helped off of the ice.

As if that wasn't enough, the game winning goal for Vancouver was scored when Tambellini, #10 for the Cannucks, hit backup goalie, Peter Budaj, in the head with his stick, which then bopped an airborne puck straight back into the net. This was the second game in a row where Vancouver scored a goal off of Budaj's head. You just can't ask for luck this bad against a team.

Plus, after the Avs had pulled back to within one goal, they managed to give the puck away at their own blue line which lead from one Sedin, to the other, then the Alex Burrows, and then to the back of the net. This was definitely more about poor puck possession than bad luck, but the whole night was just off for the Avs. Poor play in their own zone, constantly making bad attempts to clear the puck which resulted in several shifts where they were pretty much just running around in their own zone, not getting enough offensive pressure, and still taking too many penalties (though they did manage to keep Vancouver's #1 rated power play off of the score board tonight) led to this loss.

The Avs play tomorrow in Edmonton, and they had better look better than they did tonight. Joe Sacco said in the teams pre-game skate that these three games, which started with the Cannucks tonight, should be easy ones to motivate for. Well, while they weren't as horrible as they were the last time they played the Cannucks, they sure didn't look as if they were ready to come out and beat the Cannucks tonight. Tomorrow against the Oilers, a team that they should definitely beat, and then again on Saturday against the Wild, another team that has been bottom dwelling, that they should beat. Let's see how motivated and prepared this team is, because games against those kinds of teams, the teams that you really should be whenever you play them, is one of the things that will make you or break you when it's time to see who makes the playoffs.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

History to be Made in College Football

Not so much that it looks like a PAC-10 team is going to be represented in the national championship game, we've seen that a lot, though rather exclusively with one team in recent history. But it does look as if Oregon is going to be making its first ever appearance in the BCS Championship game. The biggest questions, and possibly the most history making answer, will come in who is going to be their opponent?

I went to school in Washington, so I knew a lot of people who were very passionate about Oregon college football, but it has really been a long time since I have had a team to care about. As a kid, growing up in Colorado, I definitely had a thing for CU, and remember watching the amazing Orange Bowl game in which CU won its first, and only, national championship. That lasted up until the days of Kordell Stewart, and the Miracle in Michigan, and Rashan Salaam winning the Heisman Trophy. Since then Colorado College football has been kind of boring. I do always like to watch the bowl games on New Years, and saw the Oregon vs. Ohio State game last year. Even though Oregon lost that game last year, I could not get over how much fun it was to watch that team. So, since then, Oregon has become my college football team of choice. So I am quite happy to see Oregon sitting atop the college football rankings.

Now, if I had my choice of teams to pick for who I would want to play against Oregon in the national championship game, it would be Boise State. Not a hugely flashy team, but they do have some very fun trick plays up their sleeves that just makes things fun to watch. I mean, who can forget that hook and ladder play against Oklahoma that put them on the map. They still pull out some gems every now and their unpredictability, against the speed and excitement of an Oregon team would make for the most interesting game.

The most likely game to happen, and this pretty much depends entirely on what happens this week against Alabama, is Oregon vs. Auburn. Now, Auburn's QB, Cam Newton, has been in the news a lot recently about possible violations while he was at Florida. Depending on the outcome of these allegations, as well as whether or not they are able to beat the defending national champs, could definitely affect whether or not Auburn makes it that far. We must, of course, remember that Auburn does still need to play a South Carolina team that handed Bama its first loss of the year in the SEC championship. Auburn, while I believe the most likely choice, is still far from a sure thing, and will have to continue to play its impressive brand of football in order to get there, especially if they may end up without their team leader at QB. It's definitely hard to picture Auburn winning out without Cam Newton.

Now, should Auburn lose, we could see TCU end up in the national championship game, which would still provide us the history that so many people are aching for when it comes to the BCS system never giving non-automatic teams the time of day, but it lacks quite the following that Boise State has. TCU is a great team, but just aren't quite as sexy as Boise State is. I mean, it isn't like TCU plays on purple turf or anything like that.

Potential darkhorse teams. Other than Boise State and TCU, the only other team that really has much of a chance to squeak in, and they would need a lot of help from all the teams in front of them, is Wisconsin. Wisconsin is looking to assure themselves of the Big 10 Title with a win over Northwestern this week. If nothing else, Wisconsin, with a win, will manage to make it back to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2000. Considering that Northwestern is a far inferior team, there is not much of a reason for Wisconsin to not claim the Big 10 Title this year, but most likely will fall short of the national championship game.

Whichever way it ends up, the road up to the national championship game is going to be one that is filled with twists and turns, and some seriously exciting football! I know that I am looking forward to it.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

KGs week 11 picks!

Trying to get my picks in, and I have had wine, so we'll see how well these come out in my slightly tipsy version of my picks. Please excuse any typos that you might see. :-) 84-60 after a horrible 5-9 week last week. Looking for an improvement.

Miami @ Chicago: I chose Miami in this one, and missed. 0-2 in my Thursday picks. Boo.

Buffalo @ Cincinnati: This is an interesting match up. I honestly wouldn't be that surprised if Buffalo wins, but I just think that Cinci's receivers are too good for Buffalo's secondary. I'll take the Bengals.

Detroit @ Dallas: Sometimes a change in coach will light a fire under the player's rear ends to. Seems that that happened in Dallas. I think the boys will win 2 in a row, but still won't be going too far too fast. Cowboys.

Washington @ Tennessee: Skins are in disarray. Titans will take this one, but it could be a pretty close game.

Arizona @ Kansas City: Arizona is in transition, and KC needs to rebound after a horrible week against the Broncos last week. I think that KC will bounce back and take this one.

Green Bay @ Minnesota: Favre is still hobbled, and Green Bay has the NFL's sack leader. I think the Pack are finally ready for a regular season win against their arch rivals. Give me Aaron Rodgers and the cheese heads.

Houston @ NY Jets: Tough one here. Both of these teams have been making it hard for people to decide which way they are going. The Jets are doing well, and Houston should definitely be a threat in the playoffs, but both teams have had some let downs in the not too disatant pass. I'll give the edge to the Jets since they are playing at home, but won't be surprised if the Texans take this one. Jets.

Oakland @ Pittsburgh: Steelers. No question.

Baltimore @ Carolina: Ravens, not even a small hesitation. This one will get ugly fast.

Cleveland @ Jacksonville: This one could be deceptive. Jacksonville is a traditional run team that seems to be moving towards more passing. And Cleveland now has a pretty stellar run game, led by Peyton Hillis (whom I still desperately wish was in Denver.). I have a funny feeling about this one. I've picked against Cleveland the last 2 weeks, and been punished for it, so I will stop. Give me the Browns.

Atlanta @ St. Louis: St. Louis is much improved, but not enough to take out a very talented Falcons team. Atlanta.

Seattle @ New Orleans: Seattle needs to get better fast, but won't happen against the Saints.

Tampa Bay @ San Fran: I believe that Vegas has San Fran as the favorite in this one. If I'm a betting man, give me that bet. I'll take the Bucs in this one, easily.

Indianapolis @ New England: The one that everybody will be worried about. I'll tel you my main reason for this pick, injuries. I almost never will pick against Peyton Manning, especially against the Pats, but I just think that Colts have too many injuries to overcome the Pats this time. It makes me feel dirty, but give me the Pats.

NY Giants @ Philadelphia: A very good game in the making here. G-men looking to rebound against a Philly team that DESTROYED the Skins last week. If there is a D that is good enough to stop Vick, it's the G-men, but Vick is too hot right now. Give me the Iggles.

Denver @ San Diego: Denver played great last week, stemming the tide of McDaniels hot seat talk, but that won't continue. I forsee another pretty bad beating from the Chargers in this one against my home town boys. Please, fire McD. The Broncos run game is a disgrace because of this guy, get him the hell out of town. Chargers.

Friday, November 19, 2010

The Avs Start to Get Healthy

10 games after my last post on the Avs, and a lot has gone on. The night I made my last post, Craig Anderson went down with a knee injury and nobody knew how long he would be out. Well, he returned tonight and helped the Avs to a 5-1 victory over the New York Rangers.

Over the past 10 games, the Avs have seen a lot of faces come up and contribute, due to necessity from injury. Adam Foote went out, Kyle Quincy, Kyle Cumiskey, TJ Galliardi, Craig Anderson, David Koci (though nobody really noticed his absence as all he does is come out for a couple of minutes and then sits for 5 minutes). Normally, a team this hit by injury, you would expect to crash and burn, but in the last 10 games, that have been without Craig Anderson, the Avs are 7-3. Why the success? The young blood that has come in, and, strangely enough, Peter Budaj. I mean, this is the guy that didn't manage to stay ahead of Jose Theodore, and assisted the Avs to a 14th place Western Conference finish, yet he's helped the Avs to a 7-3 record in their last 10. Why?

Well, here's my theory. Last year the Avs allowed more shots on goal than any other team in the NHL. And Craig Anderson bailed them out A LOT! There were very few games in which the Avs actually out shot their opponents last year, and they were quite frequently badly outshot. In the last 10, the Avs out shot their opponents 4 times, were exactly even in shots twice, and really only badly outshot once, against the Sharks in an OT victory. Something seems to have happened to this Avs team that took a full season and 20 games to catch on.

In the last 10 games, the Avs have scored 40 goals, and only given up 24. Once Craig Anderson went down, then Adam Foote, and other defensemen, it seems as if this team realized that they couldn't actually rely on their goalie to steal games for them, and realized that some serious offense was in order. Suddenly, the Avs have realized that the best way to win the games is to score against your opponents. And the young blood that was brought in has definitely helped.

Kevin Porter has scored some great goals, and actually has the GWG in the last 2 games for the Avs. Kevin Shattnekirk has proven to be very effective defensively, and has 2 goals in his last 2 games. Colby Cohen was involved in a lot of scraps in the time that he spent, and even managed to get under the skin of Jarome Iginla. Jonas Holos jumpstarted the Avs power play with his big shot, and helped with his physical play.

Now, the Avs are getting healthy. Adam Foote is back in the line-up, Craig Anderson is back in the line up, and it is obvious that those two should be brought right back into the line-up. Both great leaders for this team, but now there is a real question about what to do with the 2 Kyles, Cumiskey and Quincey, when they get back. If you ask me, at least one of them needs to go. We have a better offensive defensemen right now, and it would be a huge mistake to send him back down. Shatty is ready for the big time, and has already proven that he is more reliable than both of the Kyles in his own zone. I'm quite interested to see where this Avs team goes. They are now tied for first in the NW division, and if the type of offense keeps coming around that we have seen in the last 10, and Andy and Boods actually get the support that they have needed, we could possibly see a big move up in the standings for these Avs.

As the giant homer that I am, I will keep rooting for my Avs to make a return to the top of our division.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

KGs week 10 picks!

9-4 last week, not half bad. My fantasy teams continue to tank, with the exception of my pick'em league. Grand total of 79-51. Hoping to keep my rolls going.

Baltimore @ Atlanta: Happened Thursday. I chose Baltimore, and was wrong. **sigh**, oh well.

Cincinnati @ Indianapolis: Cinci has been so inconsistent this year, and Indy has been hammered by the injury bug. Cinci's inconsistency is worse in the end. Colts win this one.

NY Jets @ Cleveland: Cleveland pulled off another huge win last week. They are better than people give them credit for, and have a strong possibility of winning another big one. I think the Jets come well prepared enough to squeak out a close win. But give the Browns their due. They have risen about the poor Cleveland designation.

Minnesota @ Chicago: Well, 2 teams that both aren't playing very well. Bears have definitely slowed since their hot start, and the Vikes have never really gotten going, but with that exciting come from behind victory they got over Arizona last week, they may have found a rallying point. Their defense especially seemed to have gotten a shot in the arm. I think they will ride that momentum past the Bears this week.

Tennessee @ Miami: Randy Moss's debut with the Titans. He has played the Fins very well in the past. The Fins have also had a very difficult schedule, and the Titans won't make things any easier. Fins will keep it close, but will fall short again.

Houston @ Jacksonville: Houston got screwed on a bad call last week. That full catch rule is ridiculous. If it is no longer a touchdown when a guy catches the ball, crosses the plane of the goal line, and has control of the ball the entire time he's crossed the goal line, then I don't know what is. Jacksonville still isn't very good, and Houston is on the rise. They have to show that they can bounce back, and they will.

Detroit @ Buffalo: Bufallo stinks, Detroit is flirting with relevance. I'll take the Lions.

Carolina @ Tampa Bay: Tampa Bay has shown that they have a legit chance to win their division. Carolina has shown that they can't really do much of anything this year, I'll take the Bucs.

Kansas City @ Denver: I love my Broncos, but they have no ability to really do anything this year, other than get hammered. They couldn't stop the Raiders run game, and they won't be able to stop the Chief's run game. Broncos take another step towards a new head coach this week, and lose another division game at home.

St. Louis @ San Francisco: Rams have played very well this year, far exceeding expectations. San Fran has been the exact opposite, and are coming off a bye after beating the Broncos in England. This could be a close one, but the Rams should be able to pull this one out.

Dallas @ NY Giants: Dallas is going nowhere fast, but down. The G-men are moving closer to another division title. G-men.

Seattle @ Arizona: Arizona totally blew it last week. They had the Vikes right where they wanted them, and, in the immortal words of Dennis Green, they let them off the hook. They can't do that again. I do, however, believe that the Seahawks will take this one down.

New England @ Pittsburgh: New England can't play on the road against anybody, and the Steelers are much tougher than Cleveland. She Said No will definitely have his way with the girl in the Pat's huddle (apologies for that).

Philadelphia @ Washington: Good win for Philly last week, and maybe Vick will finish this game out this time. I think that if Vick stays in all 4 quarters they will take this one. Too much drama in D.C., Iggles prevail.

Here's hoping things go well this week!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

KGs week 9 picks

Crazy NFL season continues!! My fantasy teams have been a pretty huge disappointment at this point in time. The only exception has been the excellent picks that I have made. I am currently number 1 in my yahoo pick'em league. Very happy about that! So, with that said. Here are my picks for week 9 of the NFL season. By the way, 8-5 from last week, not great but still a winning record, puts me at 70-47 for the season. Just barely under 60% correct. Hoping to get better!

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta: Tampa has played quite well this year, but Atlanta is really starting to find their rhythm. Atlanta will take this one in a very good game.

Chicago @ Buffalo: Buffalo has shown some life in this season, but never on defense. Bears should win this one.

New England @ Cleveland: Cleveland has the biggest shocker win of the year when they beat the Saints. I think they will be more competitive than people expect during this game, but still can't take down the Pats.

NY Jets @ Detroit: Detroit finally got a win last week, but are they able to win 2 in a row for the first time in what seems like a decade? Not this time. Jets bounce back and take this one.

Arizona @ Minnesota: Inconsistent vs. inconsistent. The inconsistent Vikes will take this one.

New Orleans @ Carolina: Saints got a HUGE win last week against a very good Steelers team. I think that they will keep things rolling against a not very good Carolina team. Saints.

Miami @ Baltimore: Miami has been so up and down this year. They can play tough teams, as shown against the Steelers, when a very questionable call kept them from winning the game. So don't rule them out against Baltimore. But, I do think that Baltimore is going to take this one. Ed Reed will ball hawk like he always does and will make a big play against Chad Henne.

San Diego @ Houston: San Diego showed some heart last week, coming back to beat the Titans. Houston needs to bounce back after losing to Indy. Houston has shown great resolve this year, and I just haven't seen much of anything that has shown San Diego is consistent enough to hold the Texans offense down. This will be a good one, but I have a feeling Houston will take this one late.

NY Giants @ Seattle: Seattle needs to show what they are made of after getting killed by Oakland. They may play decently, but will still not beat the G-men.

Kansas City @ Oakland: Oakland has tons of confidence after scoring a total of 92 points in the last 2 weeks. Kansas City needs this win to keep moving a head of the rest of the very mediocre AFC West. Oakland will probably lead early, but KC will prevail in this one.

Indianapolis @ Philadelphia: This will be a great game. Vick is coming back for the Iggles. And the Colts are still short a lot of people. But, if there is a person who can deal with injuries in their team, it is Peyton Manning. This guy is just so efficient. Had some tough games this year, but I just can't pick against Peyton Manning. Give me the Colts.

Dallas @ Green Bay: Cowboys are going nowhere fast, except for down. Packers win this one.

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati: Cinci has so many question marks, just can't really ever seem to put the whole thing together. They will play the Steelers tough, just like always, but She Said No and crew will take this one down. Steelers.