Ranger things...

Red is back in the Rangers life...


This past Friday the Texas Rangers unveiled there new alternate uniform that will be worn on Saturday home games and special occasions, such as this upcoming Opening Day in April.


The club also unveiled new home uniforms, the main difference is on the front of every jersey it says Texas rather then Rangers on the home uniforms. The club has also gotten rid of the sleeveless jerseys (which I was a fan of.) Here's a look of some of the players and manager Ron Washington modeling the new uni's.



They're all pretty snappy, I would like for the home jersey to say Rangers on them because it is devoid of that on every one of the jerseys but aside from that they're good. I think the new red alternate looks good, personally I'm glad they didn't make the full transition back to red, blue in my opinion looks better, but seeing how I am very superstitious and red is the only color we have ever made the playoffs in it's nice to see it back. It's even better that they'll be wearing black cleats because I always thought the all red uniform (including red cleats) years ago looked awkward.





Now the real problem I have is the batting helmets, these things are attrocities on the level of the Chicago White Sox thinking shorts were a good idea for a baseball team and camoflauge jerseys for the San Diego Padres. Just look at these things



It's hard to form a coherent sentence thinking about who the dumbass is who thought these were a good idea. Blue and red are solid colors apart but when they form to go ontop of a hat? What the hell is that! This has to be a gag right? I pray these go the way of the Dallas Mavericks failed silver jersey and never see the light of day again after the backlash for these things will be, HUH!?! I would sleep better knowing the person who made these helmets never receive another job again, at least until he releases a full apology for this heinous creation.







But enough about that let's talk about this. Michael Young moving to 3rd base. This is the right move, I think most people who follow the Rangers farm team and have a decent idea about Elvis Andrus figured this move was going to come sooner then later. I honestly thought it wasn't going to come to 2010 but the Rangers of the last year or 2 have pushed and challenged there top talent (Chris Davis jump to the Majors, Tommy Hunter in the big leagues and Neftali Feliz going from Low A to AA skipping High A altogether. These would just be a few examples) This move makes Youngs gold glove which he won in November look all the more worthless (which it was stupid for him to win) But it may have actually made Young think he was a top tier defender. I don't want to make this a bash Young thread because if he can get to balls he's normally pretty solid with his strong arm but I have seen so many times balls slowly go past the pitcher up the middle or see him half flailing for a ball to his right as it slow dribbles past him into left field causing 2 runs to score. If Andrus is as great defensively as we all here then we are in for a treat. Sure he will make mistakes early on but he will also get to balls Young could only dream of and him and Ian Kinsler could help to form one of the best double play combos this franchise has ever seen.



And some people think it's a dumb move to make the "savvy vet" change positions especially when Andrus had 32 errors last season. Just as a point of reference minor league fields are no where near top condition when it comes to playing surfaces (though I would expect Frisco to have some of the better playing conditions in the minor leagues) Adam Everett and Edgar Renteria are 2 of the top defenders at the SS position, in 2000 and 20001 Everett had 49 errors in 137 games. Renteria was in AA in 1995 he had 33 errors and in his rookie year 1996 only had 11 errors in 106 games. I expect if Andrus is up the entire year he will have around 20 to maybe even 25 errors but you know what, it's ok because I know he'll be able to get to more balls and save some runs so I can deal with the growing pains (along with the problems at the plate he will likely experience) And not to mention all throughout spring training he has one of the greatest defensive short stops of all time to turn to for advice in Omar Vizquel. This kid supposedly has the makeup to be a phenomenal player and a great leader and I for one am excited to see him for years to come, with Young to his right and Kinsler to his left.



This team has to sign Ben Sheets and there is really no way around it, only reason they shouldn't is if reports say he won't pitch until the All Star break. The Rangers rarely if ever have had the opportunity to land a #1 starter especially at this bargain basement price. Tom Hicks, you bitch about not spending money because the fans won't go out to support the team well if you want a chance to rejuvenate some interest around the metroplex and keep the damn media from bashing you and stop talking about the latest Cowboys screw up sign him. The AL West is as weak as it's been in a long time, the Angels have questions on offense and there best offensive players are another year older on the wrong side of 30. The Oakland A's are going for it this year with a rotation almost as bad as the Rangers with there only proven starter is a converted reliever who threw a career high 154 innings last year. And unless they get great production out of Jason Giambi, Jack Cust and Matt Holliday that offense is as big a mess as there lackluster defense. I mean you have to realize that one of Jack Cust or Giambi will have to play the field everyday, that's funny. Billy Beane sees that they have shot to possibly steal the division this year and you should do the same and it starts with signing Ben Sheets to a cheap AFFORDABLE contract.



You already have arguably the best offense in the league, a league average pitching staff (and a little luck) can win this division. You sign Ben Sheets to a 2 year 20 million dollar contract and you have a solidified front of the rotation guy who's been as healthy as your top 2 pitchers the past 2 years. Another positive is you bump down Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla a rotation spot AND they're going to be pitching in a contract years. Technically they both have another year on there contract but Millwood's contract becomes non guaranteed if he fails to pitch 180 IP's (which he hasn't the past 2 years) and Padilla has a team option following this season. Add a guy like Matt Harrison and possibly healthy (crosses fingers) Brandon McCarthy who has apparently put on 25 pounds this off season and you have a decent pitching staff. And if Sheets goes unsigned you're back to being branded as a band of mediocrity with little to no fan interest. I'll of course be interested because I'll always support the team and understand if we don't sign him there is still help on the way but not that many people know that nor have the patience to watch Texas build a winner. The time to act is now and then go for it all in 2010 and 2011.



As documented by baseball blogger over at the Dallas Morning News Mike Hindman he talks about Ben Sheets injury history over the past 4 seasons: http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/01/the-ben-sheets-medical-file.html

He states in 2004 he missed 3 months due to dizziness caused by an inner ear infection. In 2005 it appears to be documented by many that he had shoulder problems (a big red flag) but it was actually a muscle tear called the latissimus dorsi, which causes you to move the shoulder. In 2006 he was very limited only pitching 106 innings removing scar tissue from his latissimus dorsi. The article goes on to state he has had 0 structure damage done to his shoulder or rotator cuff and no ligament damage to his elbow. Really just a bunch of muscle pulls and odd injuries, seemingly a bit unlucky.

I see no reason why we can't give him 2 (and I'll even give a mutual option for 3 if that's what it takes) and a bunch of incentive type stuff to get him signed. Really I think the club is doing all there homework they can so they don't sign a guy who pitches 12 times a year and has to be shut down, but even if he only pitches 12-20 times a year he'll still be our best pitcher in those appearances, so why not take the risk. And of course everybody knows if we fail to sign him he will prove the doubters wrong and win a CY Young somewhere, that's what happens when you're a Rangers fan.


Gil Lebreton has this to say about the potential Sheets signing: http://www.star-telegram.com/284/story/1163343.html




Finally I want to get to Eric Hurley and the Rangers minor league system. 4 days ago it came out that Eric Hurley was going to miss the entire 2009 season to repair a torn rotator cuff. In 2007 he was ranked by Baseball America as there #68 prospect and the Rangers system was ranked 28th in the major leagues. The year before that the system was pretty barren with only Thomas Diamond, Edinson Volquez and John Danks to hang there hat on. Had Hurley gone down and missed all season in one of those years those who follow the minor leagues would have been crushed because of the amount of pressure and stock that has gone into him. And while it still is a huge blow and I will miss watching him progress this year it's not as big a deal as it once was. Because for the 1st time they have depth.


Baseball America and Keith Law from ESPN have come out ranking the Rangers as both having the top systems in baseball.


http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9091200/Farm-system-gets-top-ranking--


In this article Editor in chief for Baseball America states, "Other teams had great pitching or great hitting, but the Rangers had the best of both"



And here is a quote from ESPN's Keith Law, "The Rangers have far and away the best farm system in the game right now, with impact prospects, lots of depth (particularly in very young pitching) and plenty of prospects close enough to the majors to help the big league club in 2009 and 2010."


To read a little more of what Keith has to say click this link: http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/columns/story?columnist=law_keith&id=3848691&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fmlb%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dlaw_keith%26id%3d3848691



In Keith's rankings of the top 100 prospects he lists 5 Rangers in the top 40 and 9 in his top 100 (not even including a guy like Eric Hurley) The amount of depth this system has is simply amazing, from guys who are ready or close to being ready (Elvis Andrus, Max Ramirez or Derek Holland) for the big leagues to guys who are just starting (like 17 year old Martin Perez or Engel Beltre) and the depth this team has will cause to lose players to the Rule V draft and will force Jon Daniels to possibly make a mistake or 2. But he's put together some fantastic drafts and some of the best scouting money can buy in Latin America and the last couple years in the Pacific Rim around Korea or Japan. This is why you should get excited about the future of this team, because it truly is the most exciting time in the franchises history.




Until next week where I will write about the Superbowl, and hopefully be able to give my top 10 movies of the year, though i still need a to view a couple more. cya...

Picks for Championship games

Greetings chums, long time no typing, been a little slow to get back to hitting keys as evidenced by missing the last 2 weeks.

Quite a bit's happened, in the DFW area and nationally. Coaching vacancies are being filled while some are losing their job (like defensive coordinator Brian Stewart for the Cowboys, hooray!) But since it's 6:15 in the morning, I'm just going to get to the picks for who will represent the respective conferences in the NFL.

Philadelphia Eagles (-3.5) @ Arizona Cardinals
The Eagles are fantastic both against the run and pass and I expect d-coordinator Jim Johnson to blitz the hell out of Cardinals QB Kurt Warner and force him to get rid of the ball quick and not allow Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin to run downfield. The Eagles secondary matches up against the Cardinals receiving core as well as any team in the league and that will help Philadelphia succeed in winning this game on the road. And if Brian Westbrook is a factor in the ground game against a Cardinals defense that's been fantastic against the run then this game could get out of hand allowing the Eagles to be more balanced rather then Donovan McNabb being forced to make plays the entire game. I don't expect this game to be as lopsided as there 1st meeting but expect it to just start gradually start slipping away from the Cardinals, much like last week in the Giants game.

The Over/under is 47, I can see this going either way, which probably means you should take the under. If the Cardinals are to win this game I'd expect it to be over, if Philly wins which I presume they will I'm going to guess the under.


Baltimore Ravens @ Shittsburgh Steelers (-6) you see what I did there?
I probably hate the Eagles more then the Steelers but this team just bugs the hell out of me and seeing them hoist there would be NFL record 6th Superbowl trophy makes me sick to my stomach. I'm tired of this stupid mentality there fans have and those stupid towels (aren't they just so innovative!) I hate that there's a bias to get Steelers in the Hall of Fame while there's a bias to keep some Cowboys players out of them. I hated seeing James Harrison win Defensive player of the year over DeMarcus Ware (not saying he didn't deserve it, the homer in me felt Ware was the more qualified candidate) and I hate watching Polamalu and his hair flop around week after week. And we aren't even getting to Big Ben and that fat head of his, I often wonder how there is a helmet big enough for Chase Daniel's older brother.

Oh in case you were able to get through all that rambling there is a game to be talked about. I've told this to about everyone I know, the Ravens outplayed the Steelers both times they played each other only to lose it at the end. One of those games being where the refs came to the conclusion of overturning a call despite there not being sufficient evidence in the waning seconds of the game (though Ben probably sneaks it in the very next play)But I'll still never understand how the refs make that call. If Terrell Suggs plays, which I think he will and is as effective as he's been throughout this entire season, I think the Ravens can win, or at least cover the spread, which is what this is supposed to be about anyways. Rookie QB Joe Flacco has to be more composed (that and his receivers need to get opened) I realize he's gone against some top notch defenses the past couple weeks but he needs to be completing more then 50% of his passes to give the Ravens a chance. So it sounds like a lot has to happen for the Ravens to win and while that may be so they've lost there 1st 2 games vs. the Steelers by a combined 7 points so don't just automatically count them out, especially a defense led by the mammoth up front Haloti Ngata future HoF'er Ray Lewis and the best safety this decade in Ed Reed.

Ravens, and the over/under is 34, you'd expect temperature to be a little bit of a factor, which leads me to taking the under.

until next time...

Fiesta Bowl Preview

Well Monday Night features the 2009 Fiesta bowl with a great matchup:

The Ohio Stat University starring Beannie Wells, CB Malcolm Jenkins and the most hyped freshman at Ohio State since Greg Oden went there his 2nd time (get it, he's old) Terrelle Pryor

Vs.

The Pride of Texas led by Colt McCoy, white receiver extraordinaire Jordan Shipley and stud DE Brian Orakpo

The Texas Longhorns

Well the thing I've been doing during this entire bowl preview has been getting people who are fans (or current students) that I know from various websites of one of the teams in the bowl. The person who wrote this bowl preview is a current student at THE Ohio State University and migrant from Turkey. His name is Arda Durgun. Just a quick snippet about this Turkish fellow, he likes Scrabble and his favorite song is Istanbul not Constantinople by They Might be Giants. Here's a picture of what he may (or may not) look like.

Here's his writeup:

Disrespect. That's what Texas team will be fueled with when they step on the field against ohio state team on monday after getting snubbed out of national championship game. As much as Mack Brown tries to claim that team put the BCS mess behind them, we all know that it will be back of every player's mind. Conventional wisdom says, last thing Ohio State would want is to face this pissed off Texas team that was seconds away from playing for the title game. I mean, you wouldnt expect Buckeye team that has been blown out of the field last two BCS bowl games to hang with mighty Longhorns, right?

Well not so fast, one thing bowl season has taught us year in and year out is that matchups matter as much as, if not more than, the overall performance teams put up during regular season, and this matchup is rather godsend for Buckeyes compared to playing Florida and LSU. And the reason is...defense.

Looking back at Ohio State's infamous BCS bowl loses, Florida and LSU finished the season 8th and 3rd in the nation respectively. Texas is ranked...50th in the nation while Ohio State is ranked 8th. Unlike the LSU and Florida this foe is all offense.

Looking back at their schedule, it is glaring that Texas offense is yet to play defense as potent as Ohio State's. In fact the best defense they've faced all season, the Oklahoma Sooners who are off to the title game, is ranked 63rd in the nation while the worst defense Ohio State has faced is Northwestern, which is ranked 51st in the nation despite allowing 45 points to Ohio State and 37 points to Michigan St. Obviously, rankings don't tell the whole story and terrific offenses big 12 teams have faced throughout the season have much to do with low defensive ratings, but I dont think there is any question Texas offense will have its hands full more so than any other game they played this season due to the stout Ohio State defense.

That doesnt mean Ohio State defense will have an easy time against Texas' prolific offense led by Heisman candidate Colt McCoy. It is likely that Ohio State secondary will be able to slow down Texas recievers Shipley and Cosby but Laurinitis and co. still needs to spy on McCoy entire game to make sure he doesnt get running lanes to torch Ohio State defense. McCoy does use his mobility to his advantage which is why Ohio State needs to lock him in the pocket, put pressure on him, so even if they don't get to him he wont be able to buy more time.

On the flip side, Texas' defense will heavily rely on Brian Orakpo. If Orakpo is completely healthy he he has the ability to torch Ohio State o-line which has been mediocre at best. Orakpo will require double teaming from Ohio State especially with Bryant Browning and Alex Boone, which will make other Texas linebackers' job lot more easier. Luckily for Ohio State, Terrelle Pryor has the ability to move away and roll out to other side and remaining Texas linebackers will have to put in extra effort to contain Beanie Wells. Key for Ohio State offense is taking care of the ball. Pryor did have his share of issues in that department but with the increasing maturity and poise he showed week to week, there is no reason to think he can't lead his team down the field without making fatal mistakes.

“Defense wins championships”. Maybe the most used cliché in sports but it is the one that is most often correct. A great defense will stop a great offense. Not all the time, mind you, but enough to give your own offense a chance and Ohio State has more than enough weapons to cash in the given chance. Therefore, i am homerifically predicting Tressel will get his 4th fiesta bowl title 24-21 win over Texas.

There you have it folks straight from the Turk's mouth. The man knows as much about football as he does the more sissified futbol.

until next time...

picks for sunday

Well Wildcard weekend got off to a great start with all both home teams going into Saturday as the underdogs but both were able to pull out the victories. The Cardinals won despite playing as the leagues doormats the last month of the season won because of a couple of big plays by WR's and a defensive lapse late in the game by the Falcons on a 3rd and 16 that will have people calling for longtime Falcon Keith Brooking's head. I personally thought the Falcons really outplayed them in the 1st half controlling the clock and moving the ball down the field after struggling the 1st half of the 1st period. But they got killed by giving up a 40+ yard TD to Larry Fitzgerald on a flea flicker. Then Anquan Boldin breaking a tackle on a normal stop route, luckily for the Cardinals there were no other Falcons who were able to get to him as he ran 71 yards for a TD. The Falcons recaptured the momentum as the half came to a close but collapsed coming out of the 1st half getting 1 first down the 1st 20 minutes of the 2nd half. And as previously mentioned when they needed a stop couldn't get it.

Then the night capper was Colts vs. Chargers, this was one of the best games I'd seen in a long time. Don't know why but I just got really into the game though I have no affiliation to either team. But I felt the Chargers had outplayed the Colts the majority of the game thus wanted them to be rewarded (felt the same way when the Giants played the Packers in the NFC title game last year) Darren Sproles made himself a lot of money tonight though, with over 300 all purpose yards this man is electric, dynamic and any other word you can think of. He is so damn fast, he's a perfect 3rd down back because of his ability to catch out of the backfield and being able to at times make something out of nothing with his shiftiness going vertical or side to side. Not to mention his return ability. And lets not forget about Mike Scifres who punted 6 balls and all 6 landed inside the 20 (5 were inside the 10!) and had a whopping 52.7 yards per punt!

I normally don't gush about punters but it was truly the best punting performance that I have ever seen. But I just read about (didn't see the game) about Florida States kicker/punter Graham Gano who had 4 punts inside the 7 in the bowl game against Wisconsin including 3 inside the 3 yard line. He also had 6 XP's.

Back to this game, both teams had chances to intercept some bad throws or just made some mistakes at innoportune times (Darren Sproles fumbling into the endzone losing the ball. Clint Session stupidly grabbing Sproles's facemask when he was already wrapped up and was about to go down) I felt the Chargers squandered away more chances though, but in OT I would've hated to be the ref in the situation where he called defensive holding on 3rd and 8 against the Colts, I would have agreed with that call either way, you just hate to see a game decided on something like that.

But all in all it was superb football game and effort by both teams, only thing I would have loved to see was Tony Dungy uncharacteristically barking at or chewing out a camera man pointing a camera in his face, just would have really cracked me up. But in my opinion the Chargers were better then the record losing some real heart breakers and the Colts were a little worse then there record being very fortunate in some of there games. But I'm not the saying the better team today won, but the team that played better today did win. My advice to the Colts, should've called tails.

Now onto Sunday's games:

Baltimore Ravens (-3.5) @ Miami Dolphins
This 3.5 spread looks like a real ballbuster (and knowing the shady stuff that goes on in Vegas somebody will get there balls busted up for picking the wrong side of that half a point. This type of game won't feature much offense in all likelihood and will probably come down to a field goal and leave a bunch of gamblers sweating. I'm getting tired of the Dolphins eeking out victories week in and week out, Baltimore's already beaten them @ the Dolphins place and I like them this week. Over/under is set at 38 I like the over, Miami will be playing catch up and passing the ball a lot tomorrow (much like the 1st matchup) That O/U prediction is probably dumb though

Philadelphia Eagles (-3) @ Minnesota Vikings
Tough matchup, obviously the Eagles have more talent in most positions but can they put the pieces together or will they continue to show flashes of greatness coupled with games of mediocrity and out and out crappiness? That's the great mystery, but I like the Eagles because they have a stout run defense to slow Adrian Peterson and they favor passing the ball and running outside the tackle box so that will help avoid the 2 Williams clogging up the middle for Minnesota. And McNabb is agile enough to evade the best of pass rushers, the Eagles last week did a very nice job last week on Demarcus Ware double and triple teaming him (though he seemed to blitz less often last week) Maybe they will employ the same strategy this week against Jared Allen. The Eagles are a more dangerous team and as long as they can control the clock they should win this game somewhat easily, so it's hard not to take them. Eagles, O/U is set at 41 take the over, especially if the Eagles dominate.

Bowl Preview continued...

Well last night sucked as an Oklahoma State fan, but I'm positive if Dez Bryant never gets hurt we go onto to win that game by a decent amount (like the 10 point victory I predicted) I just hope people now see how mediocre Zac Robinson is, he looked completely clueless once Dez got hurt and he wasn't even close on a majority of those passes. If Dez stays healthy the defense isn't on the field as long in the 2nd half and doesn't ware down as easily. I also hope this victory can get Dez some Heisman hype going into next year because he is far and away the Cowboys best player.

I'd also like to state I don't like how the FBS is spreading out all the bowl games over the course of the 1st week in the New year leading up to the title game. Whatever happened to the Cotton Bowl being the 1st bowl of the New Year? Due to the increase each year with crappier and crappier teams making Bowls it's not even being played on New Year's Day. If the commissioners of the BCS conferences and TV want to BS us into thinking these bowls are about tradition then schedule them when they used to be!

But let's get to games for tomorrow:

Rose Bowl: USC vs. Penn St.

A showdown featuring 2 of the best defenses in the nation. I see USC throttling Penn State just like they've dismantled a Big 10 team there last 2 Rose Bowl appearances. If it does happen, how many Rose Bowls will USC have to dominate before BCS officials take away this crappy tradition? USC's defense will prove to much and Pete Carroll always has his offense ready to go after having a month to prepare. Trojans by 3 scores as they go into next year as the consensus #1 like they do every year.


Outback Bowl: South Carolina vs. Iowa

These 2 teams are heading in opposite directions, Iowa led by All American Shonn Greene is riding high winning 5 of there last 6 games (including a defeat to then undefeated Penn St.) While the Gamecocks lost there last 2 games by a combined 67 points, but due to increasing mediocrity in these bowl seasons 7 wins gets you in. If SC is to win this game they'll have to get up early and force Iowa to pass, this game could show off just how far ahead the SEC is infront of everybody (even in a down year) since Iowa is the 3rd best Big 10 team this year. I'll pick the Hawkeyes to finish strong.


Gator Bowl: Nebraska vs. Clemson

Here's a game I'll be missing because I'll either passed out or awake and not giving a crap, both teams ended the season well. Clemson did so after firing there HC mid season (deservedly so, that man defines underachieving) after failing to live up to there pre season top 10 ranking. Bo Pellini has Nebraska heading into the right direction and I'll take the Huskers.


Capital One Bowl: Georgia vs. Michigan St.

I expect the underachieving Bulldogs to put on a show in what many predict to be the last game of there college careers for Knowshon Moreno and Matt Stafford. Georgia will prove to be to fast for the Spartans, for Mich. St. to win they'll have to hope they can gash the Bulldogs run defense much like Georgia Tech's triple option attack did by running all over them. But speed and size and great tools at skill positions will be why Georgia rides high.


Orange Bowl: Cincinatti vs. Virginia Tech

I'm almost embarrassed to call this a BCS game, but Brian Kelly has Cincinatti in great shape as he awaits Charlie Weiss to keel over so he can over take him for the Notre Dame job. The Big East has won 3 straight BCS bowls while Va. tech has lost its last 4 and the ACC is on an 8 year skid (according to Yahoo Sports) I'm not gonna lie, I know squat about either of these teams so in a coin flip.....Cincinatti


And here's Robert who helped me giving his thoughts on the Holiday Bowl, he's the sports reporter for the University of Oregon's paper (http://www.dailyemerald.com/) He needs a picture, this came up when I google imaged Oregon sucks:


Here's his preview of the Cotton Bowl:
Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss:


I was sold on Texas Tech the moment Michael Crabtree broke free of the grasp of that Texas defensive back for the last-second touchdown. I also believe that, while the running game does lack that breakaway back, the Red Raiders runners provide passable balance. Jevan Snead has been everything and then some for Ole Miss, and they are playing with motivation, but if Peria Jerry and the Ole Miss defensive line cannot do enough damage against the Red Raiders’ offensive line (and I’m not sure they will), this one will be over within a half. Texas Tech 55, Ole Miss 33.

As for my personal thoughts, I expect it to be a close games in the 20's or low 30's and Ole Miss will give a better game then people are expecting. It's not like Ole Miss is incapable of putting up points and there defense is a lot tougher then people probably think, they can really fly to the ball. This was one of the toughest decisions for me when deciding games, but I'll pick Tech, the crowd should favor them too as this game will be the last Cotton Bowl before moving to the bigger more illustrious "Jerry World"



enjoy New Year's drunk people!

Bowl Preview

Since the bowl season is in full effect I got a couple of guys I know from my favorite sports website to help me with this bowl preview of some upcoming games. It started as this one guy I knew who goes to Oregon, and I go to Oklahoma State. Well even though that game is in an hour and a half I'll give the preview we wrote out for it.



The 1st preview is from a student who writes for the student newspaper at University of Oregon named Robert, here's his opinion for tonight's game:



My name is Robert, and (if you need this) I'm a sports reporter for the Oregon Daily Emerald (http://www.dailyemerald.com/), the UO student newspaper:



Oregon vs. Oklahoma State (Holiday Bowl): This is the best non-BCS bowl game on the slate, and it should be a scoring spree. Oklahoma State fans might be surprised by the depth Oregon exhibits on offense; the Ducks have an outstanding running back tandem (Jeremiah Johnson and LeGarrette Blount), an underrated tight end (Ed Dickson) and a deep receiving corp. Oregon fans might be surprised by Dez Bryant and Brent Pettigrew, the best wide receiver-tight end tandem the Ducks will have seen all year. It’s hard to go to intangibles to decide this, as the team who wins will have a 10-win season, but the Ducks play in a favorable location and have the Pac-10 looking up to them. I hate caveats, but I’m going to have to give one here. If Johnson, who suffered an ankle injury in practice two weeks ago, plays, Oregon wins 44-41. If not, Oklahoma State wins, 48-28.


My opinion:

As someone who has watched Oklahoma state all year, there weakness is pass defense and kickoff coverage. They've fared very well against the run this year (even against OU, until the defense just wore down at the end of the game) Both Oregon and Ok st. like to employ a spread formation and in my opinion both are run 1st offenses with fantastic running games. Obviously that doesn't mean the Cowboys aren't afraid to pass the ball to Dez Bryant (who is in my opinion the 2nd best WR in the country and had over 1300 yards and 18 TD's) All year teams have put a safety over the top to help the corner back against Bryant, which helps Kendall Hunter and QB Zac Robinson run the ball behind the likes of LT Russell Okung (future 1st day pick) I'm guessing who ever controls the clock more with there dominant running game will be the victor. And since I can't let my homerism get in the way of predictions, give me the 'Pokes by 10.



And for a preview of tomorrow's Peach bowl (Georgia Tech vs. LSU) here's my friend (and Katrina survivor) who follows everything that is Louisiana football and moderates the forums at realgm.com here's Salvatore Romano (not his real last name...I think)



The LSU Tigers, finishing the season losing 5 of their last 8, are limping into the Chick-Fil-A bowl, with the vaunted Tiger D looking to get on track and hoping the running game can mask the weakness and inexperience of Jarret Lee and the LSU air attack. Georgia Tech has gone with the same philosophy, looking to pound the ball with the triple option, controlling the clock while wearing out the defense.


LSU's defense has struggled with inconsistency as the season went on, but getting some guys healthy, particularly some of the Linebackers, will allow the tigers to play the run better than they have, and force Georgia Tech into throwing the ball, which has been a major weakness thus far.


Both teams will look to control the clock with the running attack, and whichever team can limit turnovers and force the other team into throwing the ball more than they want to will win this game. Look for LSU's massive offensive line to do a better job of opening up holes for the punishing Charles Scott, but if they can't, it could be a long day for Les Miles and company, with Georgia Tech being able to run the ball at will, the Tigers will have a tough time forcing them to throw the ball, but if they manage to do that, GT will not be able to take advantage with the passing game.


Prediction: LSU gets healthier, and they come out hungry to salvage what is left of a disappointing season, the huge offensive line dominates in the trenches, and Charles Scott, Keiland Williams, and Trindon Holliday have a field day, making things easier for Jarrett Lee and Andrew Hatch. The LSU defense comes out to make a statement and they limit the GT running attack just enough, and cause a few timely turnovers.


Tech can easily take this game if they get up early, and run the ball as they have all season, but I believe Les Miles continues the bowl streak, and finishes a dismal season on a positive note.LSU 27, Georgia Tech 17




I'll have some BCS bowl predictions soon, cya...

Picks for week 17

Before we start congratulations to my former high school Allen Eagles for bringing home the 5-A Division I state title. They did it beating 3 undefeated teams in there last 4 games and all without there starting quarterback. I missed the Cowboys/Ravens game last week (still haven't brought myself to watch it) in order to see us possibly win the title and it was all worth it. Unless you live in Texas you probably will never be able to understand the allure that goes into the state's high school football but I've been going to Allen games for a dozen years and there really is few things I enjoy more (since we've been a fantastic program for the majority of those dozen years) It's just great to see Allen finally get over the hump in what was a truly electrifying game.

Before we get to this week's picks I'd like to bitch about the absurdity that is Wes Welker getting fined for doing a snow angel after scoring a touchdown vs. the Cardinals this past Sunday (aren't they falling apart) He was fined 10 K for this. Shaun Ellis of the NY Jets was fined the same amount for throwing this huge block of snow (and it really was huge) at a fan in the front row this past week at the Giants/Seahawks game.



Now the Seahawks fans were out of line for throwing stuff at the Jets players as they ran into the lockerroom but it baffles me how you can get fined the exact same for doing a snow angel (and accomplishing the teams goal in SCORING THE BALL!) and throwing a giant block of snow at a fan (which could probably turn around and sue the NFL or press charges on Ellis) Ellis claims it was all in fun, I don't really buy it. When will this era of suck by commissioner Goodell end?

Onto the games:

Oakland Raiders @ Tampa Bay (-13)
Chucky coaching against his former team as he's fighting to lay claim to the 6th and final playoff spot as they play a home game at 1...Bucs please.

Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-11)
Mike Tomlin was awfully frustrated after last week's loss and you know he'll use this week as a tuneup for the playoffs. The 1st meeting between these 2 teams was 10-6 with swirling winds in Cleveland. But that was when Cleveland had a semi-competent QB. Steelers roll at home against this division foe and I like the over set at 34.

Tennessee Titans (-3) @ Indianapolis Colts
Pretty even matchup, I'm not even sure if the starters will play the entire game, normally Dungy is the type of coach to rest his players. I'm more of a fan of playing my starters and not mess up there rhythm or chemistry, if the Colts win this they'll be winners of 9 in a row probably going to play the winner of the AFC East. I'll take the Colts.

St. Louis Rams @ Atlanta Falcons (-14)
This is awful game #1 going on this weekend that nobody cares about. Falcons still have a chance to get the 2 seed so they'll sock it to the Rams.

KC Chiefs @ Cincinatti Bengals (-2.5)
Awful game #2, I think the Chiefs are the better team, really with a better offense. If they lose this game I'll chalk it up to tanking in order for them to lock up the #2 pick. I believe I read though if the Bengals win they can go from the 4th to 7th pick and that's quite a big dropoff. The Chiefs have the better QB and Herm Edwards plays to win the game I'd expect the Chiefs to win by a pretty fair margin. I'll take the under at 38.5

Washington Redskins @ San Francisco 49ers (-3)
Awful game #3, You're out of the playoffs and you just upset your division foe and you have to take a trip to the west coast to end the season, what a drag. The Redskins don't have much incentive playing great this game. San Francisco and the under at 37.5

NE Patriots (-6) @ Buffalo Bills
The Bills should be riding high after upsetting the Broncos on the road last week (and helping the Chargers in the process) But they're going to run into an absolute wall this week and get crushed by the Pats.

Detroit Lions @ GB Packers (-10.5)
It's going to happen, the Lions are going to lose and it will be glorious. I don't understand why people want the Lions to win saying no team deserves to go winless. For one, that's a load of crap, two, it's the perfect capper to the Millen ERA. Everything he's done will be embodied in this game completing this era of suckitude. And besides 1-15 is forgotten within a couple years it's happened countless # of times, 0-16 will be remembered forever and if you can get a QB and some great drafts and some solid defensive players you may be able to contend for a division. It makes the turn around that much more impressive. They've already had one of the worst baseball teams ever this decade with the 03 Detroit Tigers, why shouldnt the city of Detroit go for the worst city of the decade (which they've pretty much clinched)

Chicago Bears @ Houston Texans (-3)
The Texans blew there chance to have a winning record last week by getting shutdown by the Raiders. If the Bears can contain Andre Johnson like the Raiders did last week they can win. But that's easier said then done and I predict the Texans win to go 8-8 (a nice finish after a slow start)

NY Giants (-7) @ Minnesota Vikings
Everyone knows the Giants won't let up just because they locked up there #1 seed this week, but the Vikings feature one of the leagues best run defenses and they need to slow down Brandon Jacobs (if he plays) and Derrick Ward early and often. If Jacobs plays the matchup goes in favor of the Giants if not I'd say it's fairly even. I'll take the Vikings.

Carolina Panthers @ Nawlins Saints (-2.5)
Now I'm in a hurry, so let's see if I can rattle off these games real quick. Saints at home, Saints, take the over (set at 51.5)

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Baltimore Ravens (-11)
I like Jacksonville to cover but Baltimore outright

Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals (-7)
I'll take the 'Hawks for the upset. Mike Holmgrem is getting an awful lot of attention for this send off. I know he's a good coach but I'm surprised it's garnering this much attention.

Miami Dolphins @ NY Jets (-2.5)
4 of the Dolphins last 6 wins has been by less then 5 points and another by a TD. There luck has to end eventually, right? They'll fall back down to earth next year it's just annoying to see as I keep going against them. And why change that this week? J-E-TS JETSJETSJETS!

Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles (-1.5)
These 2 teams are so hard to predict, I could see either of these teams come out flat this game but can also see either team look unstoppable. I can see either of these teams miss the playoffs (and obviously at least one of them will) but can also see them making the NFC title game. These 2 teams combined for nearly 80 points there 1st matchup and I'd bet we'll see less then half of that this Sunday. This will be a grind it out game, I just hope the Cowboys will be able to contain McNabb and sack him when they have the chance (he probably alluded 4 or 5 sacks there 1st matchup) You know I gotta take my boys but it's not a very confident or inspired pick.

Denver Broncos @ San Diego Chargers (-8)
Is there any doubt that the Chargers will win? After climbing back to be a game from the playoffs it'd be a complete Norv Turner move for them to blow this game, but I don't expect that to happen. These guys will be hungry and pissed off (see the week they beat the Patriots) since they should already be in the playoffs. Phillip Rivers will abuse the Broncos secondary and show why he's better then Cutler at this stage in there careers. As for there playoff implications, if the Broncos win, they're likely one and done. If the Chargers win, I can see them making a little noise in the playoffs.

I'm working with some people and will try and get a bowl preview up, until then...