AFC PLAYOFFS
1. Cincinnati 13-3
2. Indianapolis 12-4
3. Miami 12-4
4. Kansas City 12-4
5. Pittsburgh 12-4
6. New England 12-4
Round 1
New England @ Miami
Pittsburgh @ Kansas City
Round 2
Kansas City @ Cincinnati
Miami @ Indianapolis
AFC Championship
Miami @ Cincinnati
NFC PLAYOFFS
1. Seattle 12-4
2. Carolina 12-4
3. NY Giants 12-4
4. Chicago 9-7
5. Philadelphia 11-5
6. Dallas 10-6
Round 1
Dallas @ NY Giants
Philadelphia @ Chicago
Round 2
Philadelphia @ Seattle
NY Giants @ Carolina
NFC Championship
NY Giants @ Seattle
SUPER BOWL XLI
Cincinnati vs. NY Giants
SUPER BOWL XLI CHAMPION
Cincinnati Bengals
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
NFL Preview 2006 - AFC East
2005 Standings – AFC EAST
New England -------- 10-6
Miami -------------- 9-7
Buffalo ------------ 5-11
NY Jets ------------ 4-12
2006 Outlook:
Miami (12-4) – Miami finished last season on a 6 game winning streak, which is pretty impressive considering who they had at QB. Now they have Daunte Culpepper leading the offense and that is an immediate improvement over Gus Frerotte. At RB, Ricky Williams is suspended for the year and is playing in the CFL, which allows 2nd year player Ronnie Brown to step up and take the majority of the running plays. This is a huge opportunity for the youngster, and if he takes advantage, he could have a huge season. The Dolphins defense has always been one of the better defenses in the league with a good mix of young players and older veterans. Head Coach Nick Saban is turning this franchise around and may lead them to the division crown by edging out the Patriots.
New England (12-4) – New England is being led by arguably the best coach and QB combo in the entire league. Bill Belichick has coached the Patriots to Super Bowl victories in 3 of the past 5 years with QB Tom Brady winning the MVP in 2 of them. As long as both of them are with the team, the Patriots should never be counted out. The defense gets a much needed boost with the return of safety Rodney Harrison and they should continue to be a top-notch unit. On the offense, top WR Deion Branch is refusing to play and has demanded a trade. Unfortunately, no teams want to pay the price the Pats are looking for. Even without Branch, though, the Patriots have an above average offense and should have no problem racking up wins and a wild card birth.
NY Jets (6-10) – The Jets had trouble scraping up wins last year and ended up at 4-12. They had issues at QB, RB and with the OL. The only thing that kept them in games was their defense. This year, QB Chad Pennington returns from injury as the starter, but they don’t know if he’ll be able to be the player he once was. RB Curtis Martin is injured and won’t be playing until at least Week 7. To replace him, the Jets brought in Kevan Barlow to compete with 3 other players to be the starting RB. The OL will be starting 2 rookies who could have a rough introduction to the NFL. The Jets will once again be depending on the defense to keep them in games and will be lucky to scrape up 6 wins.
Buffalo (3-13) – Much like the Jets, the Bills have a good defense and a bad offense, which led to them only winning 5 games last year. The problem is that they didn’t really do anything to improve the offense and, in fact, it may have gotten worse with the loss of top WR Eric Moulds to free agency. Now the Bills will depend on QB’s J.P. Losman and Kelly Holcomb throwing the ball to Lee Evans. Expect the Bills to be calling a lot of running plays and RB Willis McGahee getting broken down by the end of the season. Buffalo will have trouble scoring points and even more trouble scoring wins. Look for them at the bottom of the division at the end of the year with about 3 wins.
New England -------- 10-6
Miami -------------- 9-7
Buffalo ------------ 5-11
NY Jets ------------ 4-12
2006 Outlook:
Miami (12-4) – Miami finished last season on a 6 game winning streak, which is pretty impressive considering who they had at QB. Now they have Daunte Culpepper leading the offense and that is an immediate improvement over Gus Frerotte. At RB, Ricky Williams is suspended for the year and is playing in the CFL, which allows 2nd year player Ronnie Brown to step up and take the majority of the running plays. This is a huge opportunity for the youngster, and if he takes advantage, he could have a huge season. The Dolphins defense has always been one of the better defenses in the league with a good mix of young players and older veterans. Head Coach Nick Saban is turning this franchise around and may lead them to the division crown by edging out the Patriots.
New England (12-4) – New England is being led by arguably the best coach and QB combo in the entire league. Bill Belichick has coached the Patriots to Super Bowl victories in 3 of the past 5 years with QB Tom Brady winning the MVP in 2 of them. As long as both of them are with the team, the Patriots should never be counted out. The defense gets a much needed boost with the return of safety Rodney Harrison and they should continue to be a top-notch unit. On the offense, top WR Deion Branch is refusing to play and has demanded a trade. Unfortunately, no teams want to pay the price the Pats are looking for. Even without Branch, though, the Patriots have an above average offense and should have no problem racking up wins and a wild card birth.
NY Jets (6-10) – The Jets had trouble scraping up wins last year and ended up at 4-12. They had issues at QB, RB and with the OL. The only thing that kept them in games was their defense. This year, QB Chad Pennington returns from injury as the starter, but they don’t know if he’ll be able to be the player he once was. RB Curtis Martin is injured and won’t be playing until at least Week 7. To replace him, the Jets brought in Kevan Barlow to compete with 3 other players to be the starting RB. The OL will be starting 2 rookies who could have a rough introduction to the NFL. The Jets will once again be depending on the defense to keep them in games and will be lucky to scrape up 6 wins.
Buffalo (3-13) – Much like the Jets, the Bills have a good defense and a bad offense, which led to them only winning 5 games last year. The problem is that they didn’t really do anything to improve the offense and, in fact, it may have gotten worse with the loss of top WR Eric Moulds to free agency. Now the Bills will depend on QB’s J.P. Losman and Kelly Holcomb throwing the ball to Lee Evans. Expect the Bills to be calling a lot of running plays and RB Willis McGahee getting broken down by the end of the season. Buffalo will have trouble scoring points and even more trouble scoring wins. Look for them at the bottom of the division at the end of the year with about 3 wins.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
NFL Preview 2006 - AFC North
2005 Standings – AFC NORTH
Cincinnati ---------- 11-5
Pittsburgh ---------- 11-5
Cleveland ----------- 6-10
Baltimore ----------- 6-10
2006 Outlook:
Cincinnati (13-3) – Last season, the Cincinnati Bengals won the division over Pittsburgh in a tiebreaker only to lose to them in the playoffs after QB Carson Palmer suffered a severe injury in the 1st quarter. Well, Palmer is back and the Bengals have looked excellent this preseason. The offense is a machine with Palmer, RB Rudi Johnson and WR’s Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The defense is young and getting better every year. There were a few offseason brushes with the law, but it doesn’t seem to be affecting the team. The Bengals should cruise into the playoffs in 2006.
Pittsburgh (12-4) – The Steelers played their best football at the end of last season, winning their last 4 games and making it into the playoffs as a wild card team. They then went on to win 3 straight games on the road in the playoffs before going on to buy…I mean win Super Bowl XL. During the offseason, the Steelers lost future hall-of-fame RB Jerome Bettis to retirement and #2 WR Antwaan Randle-El to free agency. Not to mention star QB Ben Roethlisberger was almost killed in a motorcycle accident. Well, Big Ben seems OK and Bettis was only a backup last year anyway, so the Steelers will once again make the playoffs as a wild card and try to defend their title.
Baltimore (8-8) – Baltimore is coming off of a disappointing 6-10 season in which they couldn’t seem to get their offense going. The Ravens made an effort this offseason to correct that by acquiring former NFL MVP QB, Steve McNair in a trade with Tennessee. This reunites him with WR Derrick Mason, who was his top receiver in Tennessee from 2000 to 2004. McNair has looked pretty good this preseason and seems healthy again. At age 33, he still has the ability to scramble and should have a few good years left in him. He’s a definite upgrade over Kyle Boller and as long as his OL can protect him the offense should be much improved. The bad news is they still have to play Cincinnati and Pittsburgh twice a year and they need to get RB Jamal Lewis healthy and back to his old form from 2003. The Ravens will be better, but they can’t compete with the big boys.
Cleveland (2-14) – Somehow, the Cleveland Browns won 6 games last year with a QB combo of Trent Dilfer and Charlie Frye. Dilfer has moved on to San Francisco, and Frye is now “the man” for the Browns. Cleveland didn’t do a whole heck of a lot to improve their team this offseason and will instead depend on the draftees and players returning from injury to step up and contribute. The offense will look to improve with the return of a healthy Braylon Edwards at WR and Kellen Winslow at TE. The defense should be better with the addition of rookies Kamerion Wembley at DE and D’Qwell Jackson at LB. The Browns are in a tough division this year with a tough schedule and they didn’t do enough to improve their team. They will be left behind in the 2 to 3 win range.
Cincinnati ---------- 11-5
Pittsburgh ---------- 11-5
Cleveland ----------- 6-10
Baltimore ----------- 6-10
2006 Outlook:
Cincinnati (13-3) – Last season, the Cincinnati Bengals won the division over Pittsburgh in a tiebreaker only to lose to them in the playoffs after QB Carson Palmer suffered a severe injury in the 1st quarter. Well, Palmer is back and the Bengals have looked excellent this preseason. The offense is a machine with Palmer, RB Rudi Johnson and WR’s Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The defense is young and getting better every year. There were a few offseason brushes with the law, but it doesn’t seem to be affecting the team. The Bengals should cruise into the playoffs in 2006.
Pittsburgh (12-4) – The Steelers played their best football at the end of last season, winning their last 4 games and making it into the playoffs as a wild card team. They then went on to win 3 straight games on the road in the playoffs before going on to buy…I mean win Super Bowl XL. During the offseason, the Steelers lost future hall-of-fame RB Jerome Bettis to retirement and #2 WR Antwaan Randle-El to free agency. Not to mention star QB Ben Roethlisberger was almost killed in a motorcycle accident. Well, Big Ben seems OK and Bettis was only a backup last year anyway, so the Steelers will once again make the playoffs as a wild card and try to defend their title.
Baltimore (8-8) – Baltimore is coming off of a disappointing 6-10 season in which they couldn’t seem to get their offense going. The Ravens made an effort this offseason to correct that by acquiring former NFL MVP QB, Steve McNair in a trade with Tennessee. This reunites him with WR Derrick Mason, who was his top receiver in Tennessee from 2000 to 2004. McNair has looked pretty good this preseason and seems healthy again. At age 33, he still has the ability to scramble and should have a few good years left in him. He’s a definite upgrade over Kyle Boller and as long as his OL can protect him the offense should be much improved. The bad news is they still have to play Cincinnati and Pittsburgh twice a year and they need to get RB Jamal Lewis healthy and back to his old form from 2003. The Ravens will be better, but they can’t compete with the big boys.
Cleveland (2-14) – Somehow, the Cleveland Browns won 6 games last year with a QB combo of Trent Dilfer and Charlie Frye. Dilfer has moved on to San Francisco, and Frye is now “the man” for the Browns. Cleveland didn’t do a whole heck of a lot to improve their team this offseason and will instead depend on the draftees and players returning from injury to step up and contribute. The offense will look to improve with the return of a healthy Braylon Edwards at WR and Kellen Winslow at TE. The defense should be better with the addition of rookies Kamerion Wembley at DE and D’Qwell Jackson at LB. The Browns are in a tough division this year with a tough schedule and they didn’t do enough to improve their team. They will be left behind in the 2 to 3 win range.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
NFL Preview 2006 - AFC South
2005 Standings – AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis -------- 14-2
Jacksonville -------- 12-4
Tennessee ----------- 4-12
Houston ------------- 2-14
2006 Outlook:
Indianapolis (12-4) – The Colts ended 2006 with the best record in the NFL at 14-2. They finally had a good defense to go with their monster offense and it almost got them to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately for them, kicker Mike Vanderjagt cracked under pressure in the playoffs against the eventual Super Bowl Champions, the Steelers. Well, Vanderjagt is gone and they now have the most clutch kicker in football, Adam Vinatieri. The only other big change is the loss of RB Edgerrin James to free agency. The Colts will have to rely on veteran Dominic Rhodes and rookie Joseph Addai to pick up the slack. Indianapolis still has a high-powered passing attack and that should allow them to run the ball effectively. They are still the team to beat in the AFC.
Jacksonville (10-6) – Jacksonville surprised a lot of people last year by winning 12 games and giving Indianapolis a challenge for the division. This year will be more of the same. The Jaguars have lost top WR Jimmy Smith to retirement and RB Greg Jones to injury. These losses may not be as big as they seem. Jacksonville has a few young WR’s eagerly awaiting to replace Smith (keep an eye on Matt Jones). Greg Jones was the starting fullback and backup RB for “Fragile” Fred Taylor. They still have LaBrandon Toefield to backup Taylor but the FB position will be filled by Derrick Wimbush. Jacksonville is a young team with talent, but not enough to pass the Colts.
Houston (3-13) – The AFC South is like 2 separate divisions. You have the Colts and Jaguars fighting for 1st place, and then you have Houston and Tennessee struggling for wins at the bottom. Houston has a ridiculous schedule starting off with 6 playoff-caliber teams. It’s possible they don’t get their first win until Week 8 at Tennessee or Week 11 vs. Buffalo. The Texans had the #1 draft pick this offseason and surprised everyone by passing on Reggie Bush which they may regret now that RB Domanick Davis can’t seem to get healthy. Still, the Texans are starting to put together a good team, but they still have a lot of holes. They’ll give Tennessee a run for their money for 3rd place.
Tennessee (2-14) – Like Houston, the Titans have a rough schedule. If they don’t win against the Jets in Week 1, they could also be fighting for their first win in Week 8. With the loss of QB Steve McNair to Baltimore, the Titans are having trouble finding someone to step up this preseason. Veteran Billy Volek isn’t getting the job done and it may be too early to throw rookie Vince Young to the wolves. So, the Titans have signed Kerry Collins to challenge Volek, and he will probably become the starter. Tennessee is also having the same problem at RB. No one is taking charge and the starting job has been handed to Travis Henry for now. That probably won’t last. I may not be giving them enough credit, but Tennessee will be at the bottom of the division this year.
Indianapolis -------- 14-2
Jacksonville -------- 12-4
Tennessee ----------- 4-12
Houston ------------- 2-14
2006 Outlook:
Indianapolis (12-4) – The Colts ended 2006 with the best record in the NFL at 14-2. They finally had a good defense to go with their monster offense and it almost got them to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately for them, kicker Mike Vanderjagt cracked under pressure in the playoffs against the eventual Super Bowl Champions, the Steelers. Well, Vanderjagt is gone and they now have the most clutch kicker in football, Adam Vinatieri. The only other big change is the loss of RB Edgerrin James to free agency. The Colts will have to rely on veteran Dominic Rhodes and rookie Joseph Addai to pick up the slack. Indianapolis still has a high-powered passing attack and that should allow them to run the ball effectively. They are still the team to beat in the AFC.
Jacksonville (10-6) – Jacksonville surprised a lot of people last year by winning 12 games and giving Indianapolis a challenge for the division. This year will be more of the same. The Jaguars have lost top WR Jimmy Smith to retirement and RB Greg Jones to injury. These losses may not be as big as they seem. Jacksonville has a few young WR’s eagerly awaiting to replace Smith (keep an eye on Matt Jones). Greg Jones was the starting fullback and backup RB for “Fragile” Fred Taylor. They still have LaBrandon Toefield to backup Taylor but the FB position will be filled by Derrick Wimbush. Jacksonville is a young team with talent, but not enough to pass the Colts.
Houston (3-13) – The AFC South is like 2 separate divisions. You have the Colts and Jaguars fighting for 1st place, and then you have Houston and Tennessee struggling for wins at the bottom. Houston has a ridiculous schedule starting off with 6 playoff-caliber teams. It’s possible they don’t get their first win until Week 8 at Tennessee or Week 11 vs. Buffalo. The Texans had the #1 draft pick this offseason and surprised everyone by passing on Reggie Bush which they may regret now that RB Domanick Davis can’t seem to get healthy. Still, the Texans are starting to put together a good team, but they still have a lot of holes. They’ll give Tennessee a run for their money for 3rd place.
Tennessee (2-14) – Like Houston, the Titans have a rough schedule. If they don’t win against the Jets in Week 1, they could also be fighting for their first win in Week 8. With the loss of QB Steve McNair to Baltimore, the Titans are having trouble finding someone to step up this preseason. Veteran Billy Volek isn’t getting the job done and it may be too early to throw rookie Vince Young to the wolves. So, the Titans have signed Kerry Collins to challenge Volek, and he will probably become the starter. Tennessee is also having the same problem at RB. No one is taking charge and the starting job has been handed to Travis Henry for now. That probably won’t last. I may not be giving them enough credit, but Tennessee will be at the bottom of the division this year.
Monday, August 28, 2006
NFL Preview 2006 - AFC West
2005 Standings – AFC WEST
Denver ------------- 13-3
Kansas City -------- 10-6
San Diego ---------- 9-7
Oakland ------------ 4-12
2006 Outlook:
Kansas City (12-4) – This could be one of the toughest divisions to predict, but I think the Kansas City Chiefs made enough upgrades to overtake the Broncos. Even though OT Willie Roaf retired, the Chiefs still have a darn good O-Line and possibly the best RB in the league, Larry Johnson. The rest of the offensive weapons are getting old, but they still have enough left to keep defenses honest. The defense is already good, but adding CB Ty Law to the secondary will make them better. If all goes well, the Chiefs are poised to make a run at the AFC Championship in 2006.
Denver (11-5) – The Broncos finished last season with an impressive 13-3 record and a good run in the playoffs before losing to the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. The Broncos still have a good team and will once again make a run at a playoff berth, but this time it will have to be for a wild card and there are a lot of good teams fighting for those 2 spots. The addition of Javon Walker at WR is an upgrade over the team annoyance, Ashley Lelie. There’s still a question as to who will be the main RB in Denver, but then again, does it really matter? Whoever it is will probably rush for over 1000 yards anyway. The Broncos should be able to finish with 10 or 11 wins.
San Diego (8-8) – After winning the division 2 years ago, the Chargers came back with a disappointing 9-7 record in 2005, losing their last 2 games and missing the playoffs. Since then, the Chargers lost their starting QB to free agency and will now rely on the unproven Philip Rivers. Needless to say, San Diego should get used to seeing a lot of dump passes to TE Antonio Gates and RB LaDainian Tomlinson when they aren’t running the ball. Luckily they have Tomlinson who is one of the top 3 RB’s in the league. He will be getting a lot of work, but unfortunately, defenses will be all over him and Chargers fans are in for another disappointing season.
Oakland (4-12) – Ah yes…the team that everyone loves to hate…the Oakland Raiders. WR Randy Moss is 100% again and they dusted off Art Shell to be their coach. They also have a new QB, Aaron Brooks, who they picked up in free agency. Brooks, though, is a career underachiever, and isn’t really an upgrade over Kerry Collins from last year. Moss will have a good year, and RB LaMont Jordan is a great option out of the backfield, but they can’t carry the team. The defense has plenty of holes and will have trouble keeping opponents from outscoring their offense. The Raiders may get back to their glory days some year…but not this one. Owner Al Davis is old. Until he either retires or expires, the Raiders will lose. That’s the only way to break the curse.
Denver ------------- 13-3
Kansas City -------- 10-6
San Diego ---------- 9-7
Oakland ------------ 4-12
2006 Outlook:
Kansas City (12-4) – This could be one of the toughest divisions to predict, but I think the Kansas City Chiefs made enough upgrades to overtake the Broncos. Even though OT Willie Roaf retired, the Chiefs still have a darn good O-Line and possibly the best RB in the league, Larry Johnson. The rest of the offensive weapons are getting old, but they still have enough left to keep defenses honest. The defense is already good, but adding CB Ty Law to the secondary will make them better. If all goes well, the Chiefs are poised to make a run at the AFC Championship in 2006.
Denver (11-5) – The Broncos finished last season with an impressive 13-3 record and a good run in the playoffs before losing to the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. The Broncos still have a good team and will once again make a run at a playoff berth, but this time it will have to be for a wild card and there are a lot of good teams fighting for those 2 spots. The addition of Javon Walker at WR is an upgrade over the team annoyance, Ashley Lelie. There’s still a question as to who will be the main RB in Denver, but then again, does it really matter? Whoever it is will probably rush for over 1000 yards anyway. The Broncos should be able to finish with 10 or 11 wins.
San Diego (8-8) – After winning the division 2 years ago, the Chargers came back with a disappointing 9-7 record in 2005, losing their last 2 games and missing the playoffs. Since then, the Chargers lost their starting QB to free agency and will now rely on the unproven Philip Rivers. Needless to say, San Diego should get used to seeing a lot of dump passes to TE Antonio Gates and RB LaDainian Tomlinson when they aren’t running the ball. Luckily they have Tomlinson who is one of the top 3 RB’s in the league. He will be getting a lot of work, but unfortunately, defenses will be all over him and Chargers fans are in for another disappointing season.
Oakland (4-12) – Ah yes…the team that everyone loves to hate…the Oakland Raiders. WR Randy Moss is 100% again and they dusted off Art Shell to be their coach. They also have a new QB, Aaron Brooks, who they picked up in free agency. Brooks, though, is a career underachiever, and isn’t really an upgrade over Kerry Collins from last year. Moss will have a good year, and RB LaMont Jordan is a great option out of the backfield, but they can’t carry the team. The defense has plenty of holes and will have trouble keeping opponents from outscoring their offense. The Raiders may get back to their glory days some year…but not this one. Owner Al Davis is old. Until he either retires or expires, the Raiders will lose. That’s the only way to break the curse.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
NFL Preview 2006 - NFC East
2005 Standings – NFC EAST
NY Giants ---------- 11-5
Washington --------- 10-6
Dallas ------------- 9-7
Philadelphia ------- 6-10
2006 Outlook:
NY Giants (12-4) – Unlike the NFC North, the NFC could possibly be the toughest division in the entire NFL, and the Giants appear to be right at the top. QB Eli Manning is improving every year and has developed a great connection with WR Plaxico Burress and TE Jeremy Shockey. RB Tiki Barber is one of the best all-around players in the league and he only seems to be getting better with age. The Giants have solid lines on both sides of the ball and the only question mark (if you can call it that) on the entire team is their defensive backfield. The New York “Football” Giants will be one of the teams to beat in the NFC and should be causing some serious trouble in January.
Philadelphia (11-5) – The Eagles are coming off a very disappointing 6-10 season in which their 2 best players, Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens, played a combined 16 games. The “Owens Experiment” was a miserable failure as he was little more than an annoying distraction for the team. He has since moved on to Dallas and no one in Philadelphia misses him. McNabb is healthy again and seems to be back to his old self. Assuming he stays healthy, the Eagles will be a good team and will give the Giants a run for the division and, at the very least, snag a wild card berth in the playoffs.
Dallas (10-6) – After failing in Philly, the “Owens Experiment” starts over in Dallas and already there is concern. Owens has barely practiced let alone step on the field this preseason due to a hamstring injury as well as a nagging groin injury. QB Drew Bledsoe and WR Terry Glenn know each other well as they have been together since their Patriot days. TE Jason Witten and RB’s Julius Jones and Marion Barber are great secondary options, and the Cowboys defense is one of the best in the NFL. Without Owens the Cowboys are a good team, but with him, they could be a great team. Either way, they should be able to make the playoffs on a wild card.
Washington (8-8) – The Washington Redskins are the dark horse of this division. Last year they overachieved coming in at 10-6 and made the playoffs and, like the Bears, they rely heavily on their defense, which is pretty darn good. The offense is being led by Mark Brunell, who turns 36 during Week 2 and is only a slightly above average QB. Clinton Portis is a top RB in the NFL, but he suffered a shoulder injury in the first preseason game that will knock him out of action until Week 1 of the regular season at the earliest. So, the Redskins acquired RB T.J. Duckett from Atlanta in a trade as insurance. No matter who Washington plays this year, they will be a tough opponent, but they are playing in a tough division and they don’t have enough firepower to keep pace.
NY Giants ---------- 11-5
Washington --------- 10-6
Dallas ------------- 9-7
Philadelphia ------- 6-10
2006 Outlook:
NY Giants (12-4) – Unlike the NFC North, the NFC could possibly be the toughest division in the entire NFL, and the Giants appear to be right at the top. QB Eli Manning is improving every year and has developed a great connection with WR Plaxico Burress and TE Jeremy Shockey. RB Tiki Barber is one of the best all-around players in the league and he only seems to be getting better with age. The Giants have solid lines on both sides of the ball and the only question mark (if you can call it that) on the entire team is their defensive backfield. The New York “Football” Giants will be one of the teams to beat in the NFC and should be causing some serious trouble in January.
Philadelphia (11-5) – The Eagles are coming off a very disappointing 6-10 season in which their 2 best players, Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens, played a combined 16 games. The “Owens Experiment” was a miserable failure as he was little more than an annoying distraction for the team. He has since moved on to Dallas and no one in Philadelphia misses him. McNabb is healthy again and seems to be back to his old self. Assuming he stays healthy, the Eagles will be a good team and will give the Giants a run for the division and, at the very least, snag a wild card berth in the playoffs.
Dallas (10-6) – After failing in Philly, the “Owens Experiment” starts over in Dallas and already there is concern. Owens has barely practiced let alone step on the field this preseason due to a hamstring injury as well as a nagging groin injury. QB Drew Bledsoe and WR Terry Glenn know each other well as they have been together since their Patriot days. TE Jason Witten and RB’s Julius Jones and Marion Barber are great secondary options, and the Cowboys defense is one of the best in the NFL. Without Owens the Cowboys are a good team, but with him, they could be a great team. Either way, they should be able to make the playoffs on a wild card.
Washington (8-8) – The Washington Redskins are the dark horse of this division. Last year they overachieved coming in at 10-6 and made the playoffs and, like the Bears, they rely heavily on their defense, which is pretty darn good. The offense is being led by Mark Brunell, who turns 36 during Week 2 and is only a slightly above average QB. Clinton Portis is a top RB in the NFL, but he suffered a shoulder injury in the first preseason game that will knock him out of action until Week 1 of the regular season at the earliest. So, the Redskins acquired RB T.J. Duckett from Atlanta in a trade as insurance. No matter who Washington plays this year, they will be a tough opponent, but they are playing in a tough division and they don’t have enough firepower to keep pace.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
NFL Preview 2006 - NFC North
2005 Standings – NFC NORTH
Chicago ------------- 11-5
Minnesota ----------- 9-7
Detroit ------------- 5-11
Green Bay ----------- 4-12
2006 Outlook:
Chicago (9-7) – The NFC North could possibly be the worst division this year, but someone has to win it. Last year the Bears were able to get 11 wins because their defense kept them competitive. Having the best defense in the league will do that for you. This year will pretty much be the same. They haven’t done much to improve their offense, so Chicago will once again be relying on the defense to get some wins. Keep an eye on 2nd year RB Cedric Benson to take over as the #1 back on the team. The guy has skills and could have a big season. With the schedule they have, the Bears won’t win 11 games, but they will win the division.
Detroit (8-8) –The Lions only won 5 games a year ago, but in a weak division, they should be able to improve on that. They have good players on both sides of the ball, and they have a brand new quarterback in Jon Kitna who replaced the vastly underperforming Joey Harrington. If Kitna can make a good connection with wideout Roy Williams, they could rack up some big numbers together. Detroit is a young team that could be a contender in the very near future, but as for this season, the Lions will just miss out on the playoffs at 8-8.
Minnesota (4-12) – Many experts are picking the Vikings to be the team to challenge the Bears for the division this year, but I just don’t see it. They’re putting a lot of faith in the Brad Johnson to lead them to victory, but he’ll be 38 years old before Week 2, and he’s an injury waiting to happen. Their #1 WR, Koren Robinson, is in trouble with the law and may not even play this year. Their top RB, Chester Taylor, showed talent as the backup in Baltimore, but he’s not proven as a full-time starter. Minnesota’s defense also has holes, and their #1 draft pick from 2006, LB Chad Greenway, is out for the year due to an injury. The Vikings just have too many issues, so don’t expect more than 4 or 5 wins in 2006.
Green Bay (3-13) – Once one of the toughest teams to play in the league and a perennial playoff participant, much like the 49ers, the Packers franchise has fallen far from grace. They won 4 games a year ago and have done very little to make themselves better. They traded their top WR, Javon Walker, for future draft picks, and they didn’t make any big moves in free agency. They did use their #1 draft pick (#5 overall) to get LB A.J. Hawk, who is a bundle of energy and should be all over the place on defense, and they still have the ageless Brett Favre, who decided against retirement, at QB. Last year, Favre tried to do too much on his own and threw a career-high 29 interceptions. This year won’t be much different and the Packers will once again be at the bottom of the NFC.
Chicago ------------- 11-5
Minnesota ----------- 9-7
Detroit ------------- 5-11
Green Bay ----------- 4-12
2006 Outlook:
Chicago (9-7) – The NFC North could possibly be the worst division this year, but someone has to win it. Last year the Bears were able to get 11 wins because their defense kept them competitive. Having the best defense in the league will do that for you. This year will pretty much be the same. They haven’t done much to improve their offense, so Chicago will once again be relying on the defense to get some wins. Keep an eye on 2nd year RB Cedric Benson to take over as the #1 back on the team. The guy has skills and could have a big season. With the schedule they have, the Bears won’t win 11 games, but they will win the division.
Detroit (8-8) –The Lions only won 5 games a year ago, but in a weak division, they should be able to improve on that. They have good players on both sides of the ball, and they have a brand new quarterback in Jon Kitna who replaced the vastly underperforming Joey Harrington. If Kitna can make a good connection with wideout Roy Williams, they could rack up some big numbers together. Detroit is a young team that could be a contender in the very near future, but as for this season, the Lions will just miss out on the playoffs at 8-8.
Minnesota (4-12) – Many experts are picking the Vikings to be the team to challenge the Bears for the division this year, but I just don’t see it. They’re putting a lot of faith in the Brad Johnson to lead them to victory, but he’ll be 38 years old before Week 2, and he’s an injury waiting to happen. Their #1 WR, Koren Robinson, is in trouble with the law and may not even play this year. Their top RB, Chester Taylor, showed talent as the backup in Baltimore, but he’s not proven as a full-time starter. Minnesota’s defense also has holes, and their #1 draft pick from 2006, LB Chad Greenway, is out for the year due to an injury. The Vikings just have too many issues, so don’t expect more than 4 or 5 wins in 2006.
Green Bay (3-13) – Once one of the toughest teams to play in the league and a perennial playoff participant, much like the 49ers, the Packers franchise has fallen far from grace. They won 4 games a year ago and have done very little to make themselves better. They traded their top WR, Javon Walker, for future draft picks, and they didn’t make any big moves in free agency. They did use their #1 draft pick (#5 overall) to get LB A.J. Hawk, who is a bundle of energy and should be all over the place on defense, and they still have the ageless Brett Favre, who decided against retirement, at QB. Last year, Favre tried to do too much on his own and threw a career-high 29 interceptions. This year won’t be much different and the Packers will once again be at the bottom of the NFC.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
NFL Preview 2006 - NFC South
2005 Standings – NFC SOUTH
Tampa Bay ----------- 11-5
Carolina ------------ 11-5
Atlanta ------------- 8-8
New Orleans --------- 3-13
2006 Outlook:
Carolina (12-4) – The Panthers lost the division to Tampa Bay in a tiebreaker last year although I felt they were a much better team. That won’t happen this year. Carolina is pretty much returning the same team from last year. They also added Keyshawn Johnson at WR to compliment Steve Smith, and drafted DeAngelo Williams to back up the oft-injured DeShaun Foster at RB. These additions should help them run away with this division and also make them a top contender to win the NFC.
Tampa Bay (8-8) – Somehow last year the Buccaneers pulled off 11 wins and won the division in a tiebreaker over Carolina. This year, the Bucs come back down to earth with one of the toughest schedules in the league. Chris Simms will go into the season as the starting QB for the first time in his career, and although he has potential, he’s not as good as his father (Phil Simms) was…yet. The Bucs record falls to around 8-8 and this time they beat out Atlanta in a tiebreaker for 2nd place.
Atlanta (8-8) – How many times can we hear “Is this the year that Michael Vick has a breakout season?” Well, once again, many experts seem to think that this will be the year…and once again, it won’t be. Michael Vick is a great athlete and exciting to watch when he runs with the ball. The problem is that he’s a quarterback…and an average quarterback at that…with an average receiving corps. It’s a good thing he has a top-notch TE in Alge Crumpler, as well as Warrick Dunn out of the backfield to throw to. Otherwise, Vick would be running on every play. A good defense will keep them in games, but they still only get about 8 wins if they’re lucky.
New Orleans (3-13) – What can I say about the Saints? They started out with a spirited 2-2 record last year before losing 11 of the next 12 and ending up at 3-13. Then they received a gift from Houston in the draft in the form of RB Reggie Bush, who is one of the most talented players to come out of college in a long time. Bush will bring excitement back to the city of New Orleans, but the Saints have a long way to go before they will become a winning team again. There are still too many problem areas that need to be addressed. New Orleans is heading in the right direction, and getting a top 5 draft pick again in 2007 will help. They could be a pesky opponent because of the “Bush factor”, but I still think they’ll end up in the 3 win range.
Tampa Bay ----------- 11-5
Carolina ------------ 11-5
Atlanta ------------- 8-8
New Orleans --------- 3-13
2006 Outlook:
Carolina (12-4) – The Panthers lost the division to Tampa Bay in a tiebreaker last year although I felt they were a much better team. That won’t happen this year. Carolina is pretty much returning the same team from last year. They also added Keyshawn Johnson at WR to compliment Steve Smith, and drafted DeAngelo Williams to back up the oft-injured DeShaun Foster at RB. These additions should help them run away with this division and also make them a top contender to win the NFC.
Tampa Bay (8-8) – Somehow last year the Buccaneers pulled off 11 wins and won the division in a tiebreaker over Carolina. This year, the Bucs come back down to earth with one of the toughest schedules in the league. Chris Simms will go into the season as the starting QB for the first time in his career, and although he has potential, he’s not as good as his father (Phil Simms) was…yet. The Bucs record falls to around 8-8 and this time they beat out Atlanta in a tiebreaker for 2nd place.
Atlanta (8-8) – How many times can we hear “Is this the year that Michael Vick has a breakout season?” Well, once again, many experts seem to think that this will be the year…and once again, it won’t be. Michael Vick is a great athlete and exciting to watch when he runs with the ball. The problem is that he’s a quarterback…and an average quarterback at that…with an average receiving corps. It’s a good thing he has a top-notch TE in Alge Crumpler, as well as Warrick Dunn out of the backfield to throw to. Otherwise, Vick would be running on every play. A good defense will keep them in games, but they still only get about 8 wins if they’re lucky.
New Orleans (3-13) – What can I say about the Saints? They started out with a spirited 2-2 record last year before losing 11 of the next 12 and ending up at 3-13. Then they received a gift from Houston in the draft in the form of RB Reggie Bush, who is one of the most talented players to come out of college in a long time. Bush will bring excitement back to the city of New Orleans, but the Saints have a long way to go before they will become a winning team again. There are still too many problem areas that need to be addressed. New Orleans is heading in the right direction, and getting a top 5 draft pick again in 2007 will help. They could be a pesky opponent because of the “Bush factor”, but I still think they’ll end up in the 3 win range.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
NFL Preview 2006 - NFC West
The 2006 NFL season is a few weeks away so I wanted to post my season preview and predictions for the year. This will by no means be as comprehensive as Jeff's monster review, which is much more informational and entertaining. If you haven't read that yet, go here: http://volumeat11.livejournal.com/#131247. The reason for my doing this is just to keep a record of how I thought the season would play out so I can go back after the season is over and see how wrong I was.
I'm going to post these every couple days or so going division by division starting with the NFC West and ending with the AFC East (because I wanted to do that one last). I'll first list the standings from last year and then tell you how I think each team will do this season and why. After I go through all the divisions, I will make one last post with my playoff and Super Bowl predictions. So...without further ado, let's get this puppy started:
2005 Standings – NFC WEST
Seattle ------------ 13-3
St. Louis ---------- 6-10
Arizona ------------ 5-11
San Francisco ------ 4-12
2006 Outlook:
Seattle (12-4) – The Seahawks are coming off a Super Bowl “loss” and are coming into the season with a chip on their shoulder. The only big loss from last year is offensive guard Steve Hutchinson, but Seattle still has a pretty good line and the best player in the NFL, 2006 MVP Shaun Alexander at running back. Let’s not forget the solid defense that will only get better with the addition of Julian Peterson and the improvement of their young players such as 2nd year linebacker Lofa Tatupu. The Seahawks are one of the best teams in the league and should win the division and earn themselves a 1st round playoff bye.
St. Louis (9-7) – The Rams had a disappointing season last year and they have a new coaching staff this year headed by offensive genius, Scott Linehan. Rumor is that Linehan would like the Rams to run more. They have a young workhorse running back in Steven Jackson who is ready to have a breakout season. St. Louis should have no problems scoring points, but the question is whether or not the defense can hold up. If they can, and their key players stay healthy, the Rams could find themselves a wild card contender by season’s end. Otherwise, they’ll end up watching Arizona blow right by them without even looking back.
Arizona (8-8) – Arizona made a serious push this offseason to get a contending team out on the field, but was it enough? They got the running back they wanted in Edgerrin James, but do they have a good enough line to make some holes for him? They have their QB of the future, who finally signed a contract, in Matt Lienart, but will he be ready to step in when Kurt Warner gets hurt? Will the defense be good enough to stop opposing teams from scoring more points than their offense? Too many questions need to be answered. Arizona could win anywhere from 6 to 10 games this year, so I’ll go with 8-8 and I see them just missing the playoffs.
San Francisco (3-13) – The 49ers were a bad team last year. Period. They have a long way to go before they will be a good team, let alone a great team, again. They lost, arguably, their best defensive player, Julian Peterson, to Seattle, and they didn’t really get too much to improve the team over the offseason. New TE Vernon Davis (#1 draft pick in 2006) will give 2nd year QB Alex Smith a nice target to throw to when he’s not laying on his back, and 2nd year RB Frank Gore will be getting much more playing time. Unfortunately, the 49ers are in a tough division with much better teams than they are. San Francisco will once again be fighting for the #1 overall draft pick in 2007 and will be lucky to win more than 3 games.
I'm going to post these every couple days or so going division by division starting with the NFC West and ending with the AFC East (because I wanted to do that one last). I'll first list the standings from last year and then tell you how I think each team will do this season and why. After I go through all the divisions, I will make one last post with my playoff and Super Bowl predictions. So...without further ado, let's get this puppy started:
2005 Standings – NFC WEST
Seattle ------------ 13-3
St. Louis ---------- 6-10
Arizona ------------ 5-11
San Francisco ------ 4-12
2006 Outlook:
Seattle (12-4) – The Seahawks are coming off a Super Bowl “loss” and are coming into the season with a chip on their shoulder. The only big loss from last year is offensive guard Steve Hutchinson, but Seattle still has a pretty good line and the best player in the NFL, 2006 MVP Shaun Alexander at running back. Let’s not forget the solid defense that will only get better with the addition of Julian Peterson and the improvement of their young players such as 2nd year linebacker Lofa Tatupu. The Seahawks are one of the best teams in the league and should win the division and earn themselves a 1st round playoff bye.
St. Louis (9-7) – The Rams had a disappointing season last year and they have a new coaching staff this year headed by offensive genius, Scott Linehan. Rumor is that Linehan would like the Rams to run more. They have a young workhorse running back in Steven Jackson who is ready to have a breakout season. St. Louis should have no problems scoring points, but the question is whether or not the defense can hold up. If they can, and their key players stay healthy, the Rams could find themselves a wild card contender by season’s end. Otherwise, they’ll end up watching Arizona blow right by them without even looking back.
Arizona (8-8) – Arizona made a serious push this offseason to get a contending team out on the field, but was it enough? They got the running back they wanted in Edgerrin James, but do they have a good enough line to make some holes for him? They have their QB of the future, who finally signed a contract, in Matt Lienart, but will he be ready to step in when Kurt Warner gets hurt? Will the defense be good enough to stop opposing teams from scoring more points than their offense? Too many questions need to be answered. Arizona could win anywhere from 6 to 10 games this year, so I’ll go with 8-8 and I see them just missing the playoffs.
San Francisco (3-13) – The 49ers were a bad team last year. Period. They have a long way to go before they will be a good team, let alone a great team, again. They lost, arguably, their best defensive player, Julian Peterson, to Seattle, and they didn’t really get too much to improve the team over the offseason. New TE Vernon Davis (#1 draft pick in 2006) will give 2nd year QB Alex Smith a nice target to throw to when he’s not laying on his back, and 2nd year RB Frank Gore will be getting much more playing time. Unfortunately, the 49ers are in a tough division with much better teams than they are. San Francisco will once again be fighting for the #1 overall draft pick in 2007 and will be lucky to win more than 3 games.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Lumpy
OK…I know I said I would keep you updated on my doctor’s appointments that I had recently. To be honest, though, there really wasn’t that much to tell you. The results from my stress test were fine, other than the fact that I’m out of shape. I knew that already. No news there.
From there, I had a series of appointments stemming from a different issue that I had. Let’s go back to the beginning. A few years ago I happened to find a “lump”. Now, I know what you are thinking, but you’re wrong. My lump wasn’t where you would expect a guy to find one. Nope…this one was in my chest…my left breast to be more exact. OK…stop laughing now. Although not very common, men do get breast cancer. According to The American Cancer Society, there are about 1,450 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed in men each year, and 470 men die from breast cancer annually. Anyway, the lump I found was about the size of a small pea or a BB. It was so small that when I informed my doctor, he couldn’t even feel it. So, I wasn’t worried about it. Fast-forward to the present and the lump is now almost the size of a dime. So, I again mention this to my doctor and this time he says he can definitely feel it and he wants to have it checked out more thoroughly. So…he schedules me for 2 separate appointments. First appointment…I have to have a mammogram…OK…you can stop laughing now. Second appointment…I have to have an ultrasound. Seriously…stop laughing! Both of those tests confirm that there is definitely a “mass”, and they want me to come back a third time to have a biopsy done. I went with their advice and had the biopsy. That was fun. They shoot some Novocain into my chest and then take a few samples with a larger needle that makes a sound like a staple gun for every sample they take. It didn’t hurt at all, just kind of freaked me out because I wasn’t ready for it. So…I had to wait a couple days for the results, but I wasn’t too worried because my doctor told me that he didn’t think it was going to turn out to be anything. Maybe he said that so I wouldn’t worry, but it turned out he was right. It wasn’t anything. I just have to keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn’t grow up to make something of itself. Well, at least now I can be like Shane and instead of saying “Wanna feel my bolt?” I can say “Wanna feel my lump?”
Seriously though, the moral of this story is that if you have any suspicious lumps, moles or anything else, please have them checked by your doctor. Even if there isn’t a history of cancer in your family, it doesn’t hurt to get confirmation from a physician, and it certainly takes away the stress of worrying about it. That’s why we have health insurance. Thanks!
“Wanna feel my lump?”
From there, I had a series of appointments stemming from a different issue that I had. Let’s go back to the beginning. A few years ago I happened to find a “lump”. Now, I know what you are thinking, but you’re wrong. My lump wasn’t where you would expect a guy to find one. Nope…this one was in my chest…my left breast to be more exact. OK…stop laughing now. Although not very common, men do get breast cancer. According to The American Cancer Society, there are about 1,450 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed in men each year, and 470 men die from breast cancer annually. Anyway, the lump I found was about the size of a small pea or a BB. It was so small that when I informed my doctor, he couldn’t even feel it. So, I wasn’t worried about it. Fast-forward to the present and the lump is now almost the size of a dime. So, I again mention this to my doctor and this time he says he can definitely feel it and he wants to have it checked out more thoroughly. So…he schedules me for 2 separate appointments. First appointment…I have to have a mammogram…OK…you can stop laughing now. Second appointment…I have to have an ultrasound. Seriously…stop laughing! Both of those tests confirm that there is definitely a “mass”, and they want me to come back a third time to have a biopsy done. I went with their advice and had the biopsy. That was fun. They shoot some Novocain into my chest and then take a few samples with a larger needle that makes a sound like a staple gun for every sample they take. It didn’t hurt at all, just kind of freaked me out because I wasn’t ready for it. So…I had to wait a couple days for the results, but I wasn’t too worried because my doctor told me that he didn’t think it was going to turn out to be anything. Maybe he said that so I wouldn’t worry, but it turned out he was right. It wasn’t anything. I just have to keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn’t grow up to make something of itself. Well, at least now I can be like Shane and instead of saying “Wanna feel my bolt?” I can say “Wanna feel my lump?”
Seriously though, the moral of this story is that if you have any suspicious lumps, moles or anything else, please have them checked by your doctor. Even if there isn’t a history of cancer in your family, it doesn’t hurt to get confirmation from a physician, and it certainly takes away the stress of worrying about it. That’s why we have health insurance. Thanks!
“Wanna feel my lump?”
Friday, June 23, 2006
WTF?
Anytime I see or read something weird, ridiculous, or just makes me say "huh?", I will post the link on here. I like to call these my WTF posts. As everyone knows, WTF stands for "What the fu*k?" So, here's the first of many...
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=chessboxing
Make sure you watch the video in the top right.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=chessboxing
Make sure you watch the video in the top right.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
OMG!!!
I think I just wet myself...
http://www.transformersmovie.com/ - Wait for it to load...it's worth it.
For cast & crew info, click here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418279/
You don't understand how excited I am for this movie. I don't care that I am almost 30, dammit! This is what my childhood was all about, and now they are making it a live action movie 20 years later? I am so there at midnight on July 3rd. They better not fu*k it up!!!
http://www.transformersmovie.com/ - Wait for it to load...it's worth it.
For cast & crew info, click here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418279/
You don't understand how excited I am for this movie. I don't care that I am almost 30, dammit! This is what my childhood was all about, and now they are making it a live action movie 20 years later? I am so there at midnight on July 3rd. They better not fu*k it up!!!
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Stress sucks
So, I had my stress test last Wednesday in case anyone cares. It wasn't a test of mental stress (although I should probably have that done right about now before I freak out), but a test of physical stress. Now, by no means do heart problems run in the family, but they were an issue with my father, so I'm not taking any chances. When I start having random chest pains, I'm gonna ask my doctor. Being the safe doctor that he is, he ordered up the stress test. Here's what happened:
First, I go into an office where there is a treadmill and some machine with a lot of wires coming out of it and a monitor with a scrolling graph...kind of like a seismograph. Then a cute assistant (nurse?) comes in and takes my "resting" and "standing" blood pressure. Next, she tells me to take off my shirt so she can shave my chest and attach the nipple clamps...kinky. OK...I exaggerated a little bit there. She shaves certain spots so that she can stick electrodes to my skin in order to monitor my heart rate. Then Dr. Jones comes in, asks me a few general questions and tells me to get on the treadmill. Dr. Octavius begins to run the stress test "program" and informs me that the goal is to get to 162 bpm (that's beats per minute) or the test won't be accurate. Great...that's only more than double my resting heart rate...and knowing how out of shape I am, I start thinking "this is gonna be fun". I was right...it was not.
The test runs in 3 minute stages. With each stage, the treadmill goes faster and the "incline" is increased (it's not a real incline, but you get the point). Doc Brown tells me to do the best I can and let him know when I can't go on but try and get to the goal of 162 bpm. Alrighty then.
Stage one is a casual walk with no incline...no problem...my heart rate gets up to 100 bpm...cool. Stage two is a very brisk walk with a bit of incline added in. Still not bad, but I can feel it a bit in my calves...heart rate up to around 130 bpm...ok then. Now the fun begins...Stage 3 is a a jog with even more incline. I started out well, but then my calves started burning, not to mention Dr. Feelgood kept asking me questions and the nurse is trying to take my blood pressure after every stage. Meanwhile, I'm just trying to hold onto the railings before my legs fall off. I quickly tell the doctor how I feel, and he asks me if I can keep it up until the end of the stage, as I am almost at the goal. Um...OK Dr. Goofy. I hang on for dear life and stare at the monitor, praying for that magical number to show up. 150...152...154...156...dear God, hurry up!!!...158...160...158... WHAT???...just kidding...162. Yay! I reached the goal with a minute to spare. So, I finish off that last minute while getting my bpm up to just over 170. Doctor Jeckyll slows down the treadmill, the cute nurse takes my blood pressure, the treadmill stops and I limp over to the bed and lay down. Dr. Venkman tells me that everything looks fine as they wait for my heart rate to return to normal. One last blood pressure check and I am free to go. I thank Dr. Rosenpenis and Nurse Hottie as I get dressed and limp to my car.
So...everything is fine with the ol' ticker for now. Stay tuned for more adventures at the hospital next week. I get to go back on June 15th and 19th for other fun stuff. Keep an eye out for the recap.
If you were keeping track, I used 8 different Dr. names. You get bonus points for correctly identifying where each one comes from. Some are easy and some are not. Hint: Dr. Goofy is not related to anything Disney. Good luck!
First, I go into an office where there is a treadmill and some machine with a lot of wires coming out of it and a monitor with a scrolling graph...kind of like a seismograph. Then a cute assistant (nurse?) comes in and takes my "resting" and "standing" blood pressure. Next, she tells me to take off my shirt so she can shave my chest and attach the nipple clamps...kinky. OK...I exaggerated a little bit there. She shaves certain spots so that she can stick electrodes to my skin in order to monitor my heart rate. Then Dr. Jones comes in, asks me a few general questions and tells me to get on the treadmill. Dr. Octavius begins to run the stress test "program" and informs me that the goal is to get to 162 bpm (that's beats per minute) or the test won't be accurate. Great...that's only more than double my resting heart rate...and knowing how out of shape I am, I start thinking "this is gonna be fun". I was right...it was not.
The test runs in 3 minute stages. With each stage, the treadmill goes faster and the "incline" is increased (it's not a real incline, but you get the point). Doc Brown tells me to do the best I can and let him know when I can't go on but try and get to the goal of 162 bpm. Alrighty then.
Stage one is a casual walk with no incline...no problem...my heart rate gets up to 100 bpm...cool. Stage two is a very brisk walk with a bit of incline added in. Still not bad, but I can feel it a bit in my calves...heart rate up to around 130 bpm...ok then. Now the fun begins...Stage 3 is a a jog with even more incline. I started out well, but then my calves started burning, not to mention Dr. Feelgood kept asking me questions and the nurse is trying to take my blood pressure after every stage. Meanwhile, I'm just trying to hold onto the railings before my legs fall off. I quickly tell the doctor how I feel, and he asks me if I can keep it up until the end of the stage, as I am almost at the goal. Um...OK Dr. Goofy. I hang on for dear life and stare at the monitor, praying for that magical number to show up. 150...152...154...156...dear God, hurry up!!!...158...160...158... WHAT???...just kidding...162. Yay! I reached the goal with a minute to spare. So, I finish off that last minute while getting my bpm up to just over 170. Doctor Jeckyll slows down the treadmill, the cute nurse takes my blood pressure, the treadmill stops and I limp over to the bed and lay down. Dr. Venkman tells me that everything looks fine as they wait for my heart rate to return to normal. One last blood pressure check and I am free to go. I thank Dr. Rosenpenis and Nurse Hottie as I get dressed and limp to my car.
So...everything is fine with the ol' ticker for now. Stay tuned for more adventures at the hospital next week. I get to go back on June 15th and 19th for other fun stuff. Keep an eye out for the recap.
If you were keeping track, I used 8 different Dr. names. You get bonus points for correctly identifying where each one comes from. Some are easy and some are not. Hint: Dr. Goofy is not related to anything Disney. Good luck!
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Fastballs
My wife, Jen, has her own blog now: http://pitchersprincess.blogspot.com/. Read, enjoy, and if you feel so inclined, make it a link on your own site!
I've been to 5 Sox games so far this year. In those games, they have a record of 3-2. I've seen Matt Clement pitch twice. I've also seen Josh Beckett, David Wells and Tim Wakefield once each. The law of averages is working out pretty well. Just need to see Schilling now, with 4 games left to attend this year.
Get this...we attended 5 games in the first 2 months of the season. Coco Crisp, the Red Sox new center fielder, got injured exactly 3 games before the first game we went to. He didn't come back until exactly 3 games after the 5th game. Go figure...
Saw X-Men 3 over the weekend. I enjoyed it thoroughly. My first impression was that I didn't like it as much as the first 2 in the series, but I need to see it again before I make that official. Either way, it was really good and I would suggest seeing it if you liked the others. I liked it more than I liked The DaVinci Code.
Other movies I plan on seeing, or would like to see, in the theater this summer: Over The Hedge, Cars, The Omen, Nacho Libre, Click, Superman Returns, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, You, Me and Dupree, Lady in the Water, Miami Vice, Fearless, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Snakes on a Plane, Clerks II, The Illusionist, Gridiron Gang.
The over/under on the number of those movies (or any others not on the list) I will actually see in the theater this summer is 7. I'm taking all action...
They finally opened the pool at our complex this past Saturday. Right on time if you ask me. Sunday and Monday gave us a sneak preview of summer, with temps in the 80's. The pool registered at a chilly 70 degrees on Sunday. Felt good, though.
Speaking of temperatures, I think our refigerator was holding steady at about 76 degrees, and our freezer was about 52 degrees. That is why we are getting a new one tonight. Well, it's not brand new. It's used, but it works and it was only $50. If it can make water solid and keep our food fresh, then that's all we need.
I have to go to the doctor's tomorrow to take a stress test. I'm not happy about it, but it has to be done. I'll let you know how it went.
I'm glad it's only a 4-day work week. I think it's going to be a slow few days...
Taylor won American Idol. Good for him. I was rooting for him, and I'll probably buy his CD whenever it comes out.
Anyway...that's all for now. Have a nice day!
I've been to 5 Sox games so far this year. In those games, they have a record of 3-2. I've seen Matt Clement pitch twice. I've also seen Josh Beckett, David Wells and Tim Wakefield once each. The law of averages is working out pretty well. Just need to see Schilling now, with 4 games left to attend this year.
Get this...we attended 5 games in the first 2 months of the season. Coco Crisp, the Red Sox new center fielder, got injured exactly 3 games before the first game we went to. He didn't come back until exactly 3 games after the 5th game. Go figure...
Saw X-Men 3 over the weekend. I enjoyed it thoroughly. My first impression was that I didn't like it as much as the first 2 in the series, but I need to see it again before I make that official. Either way, it was really good and I would suggest seeing it if you liked the others. I liked it more than I liked The DaVinci Code.
Other movies I plan on seeing, or would like to see, in the theater this summer: Over The Hedge, Cars, The Omen, Nacho Libre, Click, Superman Returns, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, You, Me and Dupree, Lady in the Water, Miami Vice, Fearless, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Snakes on a Plane, Clerks II, The Illusionist, Gridiron Gang.
The over/under on the number of those movies (or any others not on the list) I will actually see in the theater this summer is 7. I'm taking all action...
They finally opened the pool at our complex this past Saturday. Right on time if you ask me. Sunday and Monday gave us a sneak preview of summer, with temps in the 80's. The pool registered at a chilly 70 degrees on Sunday. Felt good, though.
Speaking of temperatures, I think our refigerator was holding steady at about 76 degrees, and our freezer was about 52 degrees. That is why we are getting a new one tonight. Well, it's not brand new. It's used, but it works and it was only $50. If it can make water solid and keep our food fresh, then that's all we need.
I have to go to the doctor's tomorrow to take a stress test. I'm not happy about it, but it has to be done. I'll let you know how it went.
I'm glad it's only a 4-day work week. I think it's going to be a slow few days...
Taylor won American Idol. Good for him. I was rooting for him, and I'll probably buy his CD whenever it comes out.
Anyway...that's all for now. Have a nice day!
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Confession
OK...so I have a confession to make. I've found myself hooked on a TV show that I swore a few years ago I would never get into. I really don't like reality TV whatsoever. I could never get into Survivor, The Real World, Fear Factor, Road Rules, etc. but for some reason I can't stop watching American Idol.
When the show first came out 5 years ago, I watched it once and didn't like it. So, I assumed that it must be a bad show and never watched it again.
In Season 2, I caught glimpses here and there, but still wasn't into it.
With Season 3, I watched the first few episodes to see the really bad singers get made fun of. Then I watched the last six episodes or so because my wife was really into it. That was our first year living together as a married couple. It was then I realized that once you get down to the final 6 contestants, the quality of the performances go way up. The bad singers and the people who don't put in the effort to win get weeded out, and you are left with those people who actually have really good voices, put in a solid effort to learn the songs, make them their own and improve their performances. It's actually enjoyable to watch these talented people grow throughout the competition.
Once Season 4 rolled around, I watched the show even more. By the time they got to the Final 12, I had even picked out a favorite just to make it more interesting to me. I had someone to root for...and that was my downfall. That was last year, and the contestant was Bo Bice. It was the first time they had a "rocker" this far in the competition. In fact, that year they had 2, but Bo was the one I liked. Anyone who knows me, knows that I tend to lean towards rock as my music of choice. So, I thought it would be pretty cool to see a "rocker" as the next American Idol. As you may know, Bo did really well, and made it to the Season Finale, competing against country-singing hottie Carrie Underwood. Anyone who knows me, also knows that I tend to NOT lean towards country as my music of choice...unless it's Johnny Cash. Johnny's the man and always will be (no matter what Jeff says), but that's another subject. Obviously, I wanted Bo to win. I thought he deserved it. he was consistently the best throughout the last episodes. Unfortunately, the final song, which is the song written for the final 2 contestants to perform in the Season Finale was more suited for Carrie than it was for Bo. He was in trouble, and I knew it. So, I did what any sane person would do in a crisis such as this. I voted. Yeah...I couldn't believe it either. I actually picked up my cellphone and texted my vote for Bo to win American Idol, and the whole time I'm wondering to myself "What am I doing?" "Am I really voting for American Idol?" "What is wrong with me?" "Have I gone insane?" Before I had even realized what happened, I had voted probably about eleventy billion times. That's right...I didn't do it just once...I did it many times. Unfortunately it wasn't enough, because every Cletus, Jed and Billy Sue in America had voted for Carrie Underwood eleventy billion times, as well. I can't compete with that.
Now we're in Season 5, and the Season Finale is a week away. I think I have watched more American Idol this year than any other previous year. Not only did I watch the beginning episodes to see people get made fun of, I watched many the middle episodes and all of the Final 12 episodes. I picked out my favorite very early this year. Another rocker, named Chris Daughtry. He was the odds on favorite to make it to the last round, but he was voted off in a shocking turn of events 2 weeks ago. It's OK though, because everyone knows how good he is, and he apparently already has an offer from the band Fuel to be their new lead singer. Great news for him if he accepts. I'd buy that CD. Luckily, I have a backup favorite and he did make it to the final. That would be the 29 year-old Taylor Hicks, the soulful singer from Alabama. He sounds a lot like Joe Crocker mixed with a bit of Ray Charles. Taylor is probably one of the most interesting people that has ever been on the show in it's 5 years. With his salt-and-pepper hair color and his animated dance moves, he may not seem like he fits the typical mold for an American Idol. In fact, Simon Cowell, the tell-it-like-it-is-even-if-it-hurts judge said that Taylor would never make it to the Top 10 when he first auditioned. Simon didn't even want to put him through to the 2nd round. Yet, week after week, Taylor sang his heart out. His infectious personality and his increasing fan base, dubbed the Soul Patrol, has kept him in the competition until the end, and he has never been in the bottom 2 for votes. Never! He gets better every week, and he grows on you. Even Simon admits he was wrong and says that he now believes Taylor will win the whole thing. Taylor's competition? Another hottie...the sultry Katherine McPhee, whose rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, a song picked out for her by Simon, was one of the best performances all year and, in my opinion, is the only reason she made it to the Finale. She has struggled in recent weeks, and should have been voted off during Elvis week when she bombed on both of her songs. The Finale could, once again, come down to the fact that the final song is better suited for one person over the other. Usually, it's better suited for a voice like Katherine's which, obviously, would be bad for Taylor. It's a good thing they also get to do a 2nd song of their choice out of their previous performances (they did last year anyway). Looks like it's going to be another Finale after which I will be texting vote after vote for the next American Idol on my cellphone. Go Taylor!!!
When the show first came out 5 years ago, I watched it once and didn't like it. So, I assumed that it must be a bad show and never watched it again.
In Season 2, I caught glimpses here and there, but still wasn't into it.
With Season 3, I watched the first few episodes to see the really bad singers get made fun of. Then I watched the last six episodes or so because my wife was really into it. That was our first year living together as a married couple. It was then I realized that once you get down to the final 6 contestants, the quality of the performances go way up. The bad singers and the people who don't put in the effort to win get weeded out, and you are left with those people who actually have really good voices, put in a solid effort to learn the songs, make them their own and improve their performances. It's actually enjoyable to watch these talented people grow throughout the competition.
Once Season 4 rolled around, I watched the show even more. By the time they got to the Final 12, I had even picked out a favorite just to make it more interesting to me. I had someone to root for...and that was my downfall. That was last year, and the contestant was Bo Bice. It was the first time they had a "rocker" this far in the competition. In fact, that year they had 2, but Bo was the one I liked. Anyone who knows me, knows that I tend to lean towards rock as my music of choice. So, I thought it would be pretty cool to see a "rocker" as the next American Idol. As you may know, Bo did really well, and made it to the Season Finale, competing against country-singing hottie Carrie Underwood. Anyone who knows me, also knows that I tend to NOT lean towards country as my music of choice...unless it's Johnny Cash. Johnny's the man and always will be (no matter what Jeff says), but that's another subject. Obviously, I wanted Bo to win. I thought he deserved it. he was consistently the best throughout the last episodes. Unfortunately, the final song, which is the song written for the final 2 contestants to perform in the Season Finale was more suited for Carrie than it was for Bo. He was in trouble, and I knew it. So, I did what any sane person would do in a crisis such as this. I voted. Yeah...I couldn't believe it either. I actually picked up my cellphone and texted my vote for Bo to win American Idol, and the whole time I'm wondering to myself "What am I doing?" "Am I really voting for American Idol?" "What is wrong with me?" "Have I gone insane?" Before I had even realized what happened, I had voted probably about eleventy billion times. That's right...I didn't do it just once...I did it many times. Unfortunately it wasn't enough, because every Cletus, Jed and Billy Sue in America had voted for Carrie Underwood eleventy billion times, as well. I can't compete with that.
Now we're in Season 5, and the Season Finale is a week away. I think I have watched more American Idol this year than any other previous year. Not only did I watch the beginning episodes to see people get made fun of, I watched many the middle episodes and all of the Final 12 episodes. I picked out my favorite very early this year. Another rocker, named Chris Daughtry. He was the odds on favorite to make it to the last round, but he was voted off in a shocking turn of events 2 weeks ago. It's OK though, because everyone knows how good he is, and he apparently already has an offer from the band Fuel to be their new lead singer. Great news for him if he accepts. I'd buy that CD. Luckily, I have a backup favorite and he did make it to the final. That would be the 29 year-old Taylor Hicks, the soulful singer from Alabama. He sounds a lot like Joe Crocker mixed with a bit of Ray Charles. Taylor is probably one of the most interesting people that has ever been on the show in it's 5 years. With his salt-and-pepper hair color and his animated dance moves, he may not seem like he fits the typical mold for an American Idol. In fact, Simon Cowell, the tell-it-like-it-is-even-if-it-hurts judge said that Taylor would never make it to the Top 10 when he first auditioned. Simon didn't even want to put him through to the 2nd round. Yet, week after week, Taylor sang his heart out. His infectious personality and his increasing fan base, dubbed the Soul Patrol, has kept him in the competition until the end, and he has never been in the bottom 2 for votes. Never! He gets better every week, and he grows on you. Even Simon admits he was wrong and says that he now believes Taylor will win the whole thing. Taylor's competition? Another hottie...the sultry Katherine McPhee, whose rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, a song picked out for her by Simon, was one of the best performances all year and, in my opinion, is the only reason she made it to the Finale. She has struggled in recent weeks, and should have been voted off during Elvis week when she bombed on both of her songs. The Finale could, once again, come down to the fact that the final song is better suited for one person over the other. Usually, it's better suited for a voice like Katherine's which, obviously, would be bad for Taylor. It's a good thing they also get to do a 2nd song of their choice out of their previous performances (they did last year anyway). Looks like it's going to be another Finale after which I will be texting vote after vote for the next American Idol on my cellphone. Go Taylor!!!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Welcome back!
So, I woke up this morning to something unusual. It wasn't my alarm clock, or my wife, or my cats. Nope...it was something much more odd. Something really bright was disturbing my slumber. It was warm and...well...really freakin' bright! It was the sun!!! Anyone who is reading this knows what I'm talking about because you're all experiencing the same thing. We haven't seen the sun around these parts in about 2 weeks. That's a long time to go without sun. It's amazing what happens when there is no sun for that long. People get moody or sleepy or even depressed (probably because 2.5 Red Sox games were rained out over the weekend). Plants get droopy...sure they like the rain...but they need the light and heat from the sun to help them grown. I think my cats were starting to freak out by the lack of sun, as well. They love their sunbeams! Heck, I even got a text message from Jeff this morning. He took a picture of the sun on his camera-phone and sent it out to people asking us what the heck it was! See what happens to people when we don't have sunlight for 2 weeks??? We get crazy and confused. So, please Mr. Sun...don't ever leave us for that long again. We missed you...and welcome back!!! I'm going to go start deconstructing my ark now. :-)
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Baseball and The Sports Guy.
Has it really been almost 2 months since my last post? Huh...I'm gonna have to work on that. I need to figure out how to fit writing into my schedule. Between working too much, watching too much TV and my new found love of reading (which I will write about soon), I can't make myself sit in front of the computer for 10-15 minutes to write on here. Unlesss I am at work and bored, which as you can see, doesn't happen all that often.
Anyway, the 2006 baseball season has begun (as of Sunday), and I couldn't be more happy. I couldn't get into basketball and hockey this season, mainly because both the local teams weren't all that good. So, I'm very excited to be able to watch the Red Sox again, since they are the last team around here to win a Championship. They started their season off a high note yesterday with a nice win in Texas versus the Rangers. Ace Curt Schilling looks to be fully recovered from his injuries and pitched a great game. Unfortunately, the Yankees appear to have another Championship-caliber team as George Steinbrenner tries to buy another World Series.
Didn't see either game? That's OK, because ESPN's Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons, who is one of the biggest Boston sports fans around kept a running diary of yesterday's action. Check it out: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060404&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos3. If you have never read any of his stuff, you're missing out. It's always a good read...and quite humorous. Here are a few excerpts:
11:19 -- As Orsillo tells us that Roger Clemens visited both clubhouses today, we see a live shot of Roger in the stands. "They introduced him between innings," Jerry adds. "He got a standing ovation from this crowd in Arlington." As well as two middle fingers from me. Don't forget those.
1:00 -- Good Golly. Manny just chased down a Michael Young bomb, hauled it in and crashed into the fence, followed by Schilling accidentally making an "I can't believe that nimwit just saved my ass" face ... quickly followed by Manny sitting down indian leg-style and eating three handfuls of paste. Okay, I made that last part up. But the rest happened.
1:49 -- Holy crap! Mike Lowell just ripped a homer to left field. So much for the "Six Feet Under" and Last Out Lowell" jokes ... well, at least for today. Plus, we were just treated to Benoit's "I can't believe I just gave up a homer to Mike Lowell" Face. We can't believe it, either, Joaquin. I need to rewind my TiVo to make sure that happened.
1:50 -- Yup, it happened.
8:21 -- The Yankees have an Aflac trivia question as well: "Which current Yankee player once played on Opening Day with enough artificially injected testerone running through his body to kill a medium-sized child?" I'm going to say Sheffield ... nah, I'll say Giambi.
8:52 -- Matsui singles home Sheffield to reach base for the fourth time. 12-1, Yankees. And we're not even out of the top of the fifth. On the bright side, that leads to Posada getting plunked in the back on an 0-2 pitch by Brad Hasley and doing wussy Jorge Posada things.
"Jorge's not happy," Singleton tells us. "He's staring the pitcher down right now."
(Yup, there's comedy, there's high comedy, there's transcendent comedy ... and then there's Jorge Posada trying to stare someone down.)
...and there's plenty more where that came from. Thank God baseball is back.
Anyway, the 2006 baseball season has begun (as of Sunday), and I couldn't be more happy. I couldn't get into basketball and hockey this season, mainly because both the local teams weren't all that good. So, I'm very excited to be able to watch the Red Sox again, since they are the last team around here to win a Championship. They started their season off a high note yesterday with a nice win in Texas versus the Rangers. Ace Curt Schilling looks to be fully recovered from his injuries and pitched a great game. Unfortunately, the Yankees appear to have another Championship-caliber team as George Steinbrenner tries to buy another World Series.
Didn't see either game? That's OK, because ESPN's Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons, who is one of the biggest Boston sports fans around kept a running diary of yesterday's action. Check it out: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060404&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos3. If you have never read any of his stuff, you're missing out. It's always a good read...and quite humorous. Here are a few excerpts:
11:19 -- As Orsillo tells us that Roger Clemens visited both clubhouses today, we see a live shot of Roger in the stands. "They introduced him between innings," Jerry adds. "He got a standing ovation from this crowd in Arlington." As well as two middle fingers from me. Don't forget those.
1:00 -- Good Golly. Manny just chased down a Michael Young bomb, hauled it in and crashed into the fence, followed by Schilling accidentally making an "I can't believe that nimwit just saved my ass" face ... quickly followed by Manny sitting down indian leg-style and eating three handfuls of paste. Okay, I made that last part up. But the rest happened.
1:49 -- Holy crap! Mike Lowell just ripped a homer to left field. So much for the "Six Feet Under" and Last Out Lowell" jokes ... well, at least for today. Plus, we were just treated to Benoit's "I can't believe I just gave up a homer to Mike Lowell" Face. We can't believe it, either, Joaquin. I need to rewind my TiVo to make sure that happened.
1:50 -- Yup, it happened.
8:21 -- The Yankees have an Aflac trivia question as well: "Which current Yankee player once played on Opening Day with enough artificially injected testerone running through his body to kill a medium-sized child?" I'm going to say Sheffield ... nah, I'll say Giambi.
8:52 -- Matsui singles home Sheffield to reach base for the fourth time. 12-1, Yankees. And we're not even out of the top of the fifth. On the bright side, that leads to Posada getting plunked in the back on an 0-2 pitch by Brad Hasley and doing wussy Jorge Posada things.
"Jorge's not happy," Singleton tells us. "He's staring the pitcher down right now."
(Yup, there's comedy, there's high comedy, there's transcendent comedy ... and then there's Jorge Posada trying to stare someone down.)
...and there's plenty more where that came from. Thank God baseball is back.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
The Latest Craze
Well, I'm not even going to get into what happened at the Super Bowl. It's not even worth it. Neither team played like a Champion, and the referees were horrible. The game wasn't very exciting. Too bad, because it had some potential. Whatever...Pittsburgh won (sorry Jeff), but I still think Seattle is the better team. They would have won that game 8 out of 10 times, in my opinion. Instead I'm going to talk about the "latest craze"...Sudoku.
I'm sure many, if not all of you have heard of this new game that is sweeping the nation...and the world. It's quite simple to play, and addicting as hell. It's pretty much a 3x3 grid of boxes. Each box contains a smaller 3x3 grid. So, in total, there are 81 total boxes (9x9). The object is to fill in each row, column, and box of 9 with the numbers 1 through 9, using each one only once. Each puzzle starts with a few numbers already filled in for you. The easier the puzzle, the more numbers are given to you to start with. The puzzle is complete when you have filled in every box and there are no repeating numbers in any of the rows, columns, or boxes.
So, what is it about this game that is so addicting? I have no idea. I suppose it's a different reason for different people. Me? I'm a numbers kinda guy. I love any type of puzzle that deals with numbers or math. I guess it's because I'm a math geek. Always have been. It comes in handy sometimes. I also happen to enjoy the mental challenge aspect of doing these puzzles. If I start one, I'll work on it until it's finished. It doesn't matter how hard it is, or how long it takes me. That might not be fun for some people, but I love it. I'm that guy.
I don't even know how this whole thing got started. It just kind of popped up suddenly...at least it did for me anyway. The game originates in Japan (go figure), and I happened to run across it one day on one of my favorite fun sites, http://www.ebaumsworld.com. I would play it every now and then, not even realizing that I was already hooked. Next thing I know, my wife had picked up a book of these puzzles and was immediately hooked. Then I noticed that my friends and co-workers had started talking about it...and they were hooked. Now, it's everywhere and everyone is hooked. I've heard it mentioned in the news on TV and I see it in magazines and newspapers everywhere I go. It's crazy! It's like a drug...but it's legal...and it doesn't hurt anyone. Unless, of course, you try to do it while driving or you keep yourself up until the wee hours of the morning trying to finish one stupid puzzle...which I've done. I don't recommend either of these practices.
How long will this craze last? Who knows? As long as they keep coming out with new puzzles, I'll keep doing them. In fact, I'm expecting them to start coming out with new versions to keep it fresh. Bigger grids? Different shaped grids? More numbers? Expect all of these things...but for now, play the classic version and enjoy it. Good luck and have fun! To get you started, here's a few places to go online to play:
http://puzzles.usatoday.com/sudoku/index.html - Currently my favorite site to play on (courtesy of Tamar and Eric, through Jeff).
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/games/sudoku.html - Includes another version called Soku.
http://www.websudoku.com/ - I haven't tried this site yet.
http://www.dailysudoku.co.uk/sudoku/index.shtml - This one has some different shaped grids which I have yet to try out. I knew it wouldn't be long before they did it, though.
I'm sure many, if not all of you have heard of this new game that is sweeping the nation...and the world. It's quite simple to play, and addicting as hell. It's pretty much a 3x3 grid of boxes. Each box contains a smaller 3x3 grid. So, in total, there are 81 total boxes (9x9). The object is to fill in each row, column, and box of 9 with the numbers 1 through 9, using each one only once. Each puzzle starts with a few numbers already filled in for you. The easier the puzzle, the more numbers are given to you to start with. The puzzle is complete when you have filled in every box and there are no repeating numbers in any of the rows, columns, or boxes.
So, what is it about this game that is so addicting? I have no idea. I suppose it's a different reason for different people. Me? I'm a numbers kinda guy. I love any type of puzzle that deals with numbers or math. I guess it's because I'm a math geek. Always have been. It comes in handy sometimes. I also happen to enjoy the mental challenge aspect of doing these puzzles. If I start one, I'll work on it until it's finished. It doesn't matter how hard it is, or how long it takes me. That might not be fun for some people, but I love it. I'm that guy.
I don't even know how this whole thing got started. It just kind of popped up suddenly...at least it did for me anyway. The game originates in Japan (go figure), and I happened to run across it one day on one of my favorite fun sites, http://www.ebaumsworld.com. I would play it every now and then, not even realizing that I was already hooked. Next thing I know, my wife had picked up a book of these puzzles and was immediately hooked. Then I noticed that my friends and co-workers had started talking about it...and they were hooked. Now, it's everywhere and everyone is hooked. I've heard it mentioned in the news on TV and I see it in magazines and newspapers everywhere I go. It's crazy! It's like a drug...but it's legal...and it doesn't hurt anyone. Unless, of course, you try to do it while driving or you keep yourself up until the wee hours of the morning trying to finish one stupid puzzle...which I've done. I don't recommend either of these practices.
How long will this craze last? Who knows? As long as they keep coming out with new puzzles, I'll keep doing them. In fact, I'm expecting them to start coming out with new versions to keep it fresh. Bigger grids? Different shaped grids? More numbers? Expect all of these things...but for now, play the classic version and enjoy it. Good luck and have fun! To get you started, here's a few places to go online to play:
http://puzzles.usatoday.com/sudoku/index.html - Currently my favorite site to play on (courtesy of Tamar and Eric, through Jeff).
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/games/sudoku.html - Includes another version called Soku.
http://www.websudoku.com/ - I haven't tried this site yet.
http://www.dailysudoku.co.uk/sudoku/index.shtml - This one has some different shaped grids which I have yet to try out. I knew it wouldn't be long before they did it, though.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
The Big Game
So it all comes down to this. Super Bowl XL will be played this evening. The best team in the AFC takes on the best team in the NFC. The Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Seattle Seahawks. The hype...the commercials...the pre-game show...the pre-pre-pre-pre-game shows...the halftime show featuring The Rolling Stones...and of course my annual Super Bowl Party! It doesn't get much better than this. This could very well be my favorite day of the year. Even if my team isn't playing, I'm still excited for this game.
I truly expect this game to be an instant classic. Seattle and Pittsburgh both deserve to play in this game. Seattle has been the best team in the NFC all year long for the most part. They have a high-powered offense that includes the league MVP, and new single-season TD record-holder, Shaun Alexander. In the AFC, after a rough stretch in which they lost 3 straight games and suffered through some injuries, Pittsburgh has been the best team in the Conference, winning 4 straight games to make the playoffs as the #6 seed, and then going on the road for three straight games and taking out the #3, #1 and #2 seeds, in that order.
Both Seattle and Pittsburgh have top-notch teams in all phases of the game. Offense, defense, special teams and coaching. You couldn't ask for a better match-up, in my opinion. Currently the Steelers are 4 point favorites, which is a little surprising to me. Sure they have been on fire as of late, but Seattle has been solid the entire year and they took out some pretty good teams in the playoffs, as well. They took apart a Redskins team that had beaten them earlier in the season, and they did it without their best player, the aforementioned Shaun Alexander. Then they completely eat up the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship game...a game which many had Carolina winning. So, my advice to the Steelers? Don't underestimate this Seahawks team just because it's the first Super Bowl ever played by a Seattle team. They are a good team...damn good.
Personally, although both teams are good and deserve to win, I am rooting for the Seahawks. I am not a huge Steelers fan, but more importantly, one of my best friends, Mr. Jeff Maxwell, is the biggest Seattle Seahawks fan I know. Actually, he's the only Seahawks fan I know, but being a Dolphins fan, I know what he is going through. I have never seen my team win a Super Bowl, and they have only been there twice in my lifetime...and I was 6 and 8 years old at the time. So, I don't remember much about it. I certainly wasn't as big a football fan then as I am now. For Jeff, the emotion is even greater. Seattle has NEVER been to a Super Bowl. In this day and age where teams change players so often because of free agency, who knows when and if they will get another chance like this anytime soon? So, for Jeff's sake, I want Seattle to win. They deserve it...and so does Jeff. Go 'hawks!
Now...on to my prediction. I have been thinking about this for a couple weeks now, and I honestly think this game could go either way. Both teams are very good in all aspects of the game. The outcome could be decided on who wins the turnover battle...or it could come down to who makes that one big play at a key point in the game like a kickoff/punt return for a touchdown, a clutch kick, or a defensive stop on 4th down. I also wouldn't be surprised if the game went to overtime. I think it will be that close. The key factor in this game for me is coaching. Mike Holmgren, head coach of the Seahawks, has been to the Super Bowl twice as head coach of the Green Bay Packers (1997 and 1998), winning one. Bill Cowher, on the other hand, has only been to the big game once, a 27-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in 1996. Not very impressive for the coach of the Steelers, who has the longest-running tenure as head coach of any active coach in the NFL (14 years). Could this be the year he gets over that hump? Absolutely it could be, but I don't think it will happen. I see Seattle's offense controlling the tempo of the game, and their defense stepping up big when it counts. Both teams will mix it up with both running and passing. Pittsburgh will throw in at least one trick play, as they have at least 3 guys starting on offense who can throw the ball...but Seattle should be ready for this if they have done their homework. Look for a tight game with Shaun Alexander getting a bunch of carries and a couple TD's, capping off his spectacular season with a Championship ring and the Super Bowl XL MVP award. SEA 27 PIT 24 in OT
I truly expect this game to be an instant classic. Seattle and Pittsburgh both deserve to play in this game. Seattle has been the best team in the NFC all year long for the most part. They have a high-powered offense that includes the league MVP, and new single-season TD record-holder, Shaun Alexander. In the AFC, after a rough stretch in which they lost 3 straight games and suffered through some injuries, Pittsburgh has been the best team in the Conference, winning 4 straight games to make the playoffs as the #6 seed, and then going on the road for three straight games and taking out the #3, #1 and #2 seeds, in that order.
Both Seattle and Pittsburgh have top-notch teams in all phases of the game. Offense, defense, special teams and coaching. You couldn't ask for a better match-up, in my opinion. Currently the Steelers are 4 point favorites, which is a little surprising to me. Sure they have been on fire as of late, but Seattle has been solid the entire year and they took out some pretty good teams in the playoffs, as well. They took apart a Redskins team that had beaten them earlier in the season, and they did it without their best player, the aforementioned Shaun Alexander. Then they completely eat up the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship game...a game which many had Carolina winning. So, my advice to the Steelers? Don't underestimate this Seahawks team just because it's the first Super Bowl ever played by a Seattle team. They are a good team...damn good.
Personally, although both teams are good and deserve to win, I am rooting for the Seahawks. I am not a huge Steelers fan, but more importantly, one of my best friends, Mr. Jeff Maxwell, is the biggest Seattle Seahawks fan I know. Actually, he's the only Seahawks fan I know, but being a Dolphins fan, I know what he is going through. I have never seen my team win a Super Bowl, and they have only been there twice in my lifetime...and I was 6 and 8 years old at the time. So, I don't remember much about it. I certainly wasn't as big a football fan then as I am now. For Jeff, the emotion is even greater. Seattle has NEVER been to a Super Bowl. In this day and age where teams change players so often because of free agency, who knows when and if they will get another chance like this anytime soon? So, for Jeff's sake, I want Seattle to win. They deserve it...and so does Jeff. Go 'hawks!
Now...on to my prediction. I have been thinking about this for a couple weeks now, and I honestly think this game could go either way. Both teams are very good in all aspects of the game. The outcome could be decided on who wins the turnover battle...or it could come down to who makes that one big play at a key point in the game like a kickoff/punt return for a touchdown, a clutch kick, or a defensive stop on 4th down. I also wouldn't be surprised if the game went to overtime. I think it will be that close. The key factor in this game for me is coaching. Mike Holmgren, head coach of the Seahawks, has been to the Super Bowl twice as head coach of the Green Bay Packers (1997 and 1998), winning one. Bill Cowher, on the other hand, has only been to the big game once, a 27-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in 1996. Not very impressive for the coach of the Steelers, who has the longest-running tenure as head coach of any active coach in the NFL (14 years). Could this be the year he gets over that hump? Absolutely it could be, but I don't think it will happen. I see Seattle's offense controlling the tempo of the game, and their defense stepping up big when it counts. Both teams will mix it up with both running and passing. Pittsburgh will throw in at least one trick play, as they have at least 3 guys starting on offense who can throw the ball...but Seattle should be ready for this if they have done their homework. Look for a tight game with Shaun Alexander getting a bunch of carries and a couple TD's, capping off his spectacular season with a Championship ring and the Super Bowl XL MVP award. SEA 27 PIT 24 in OT
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Next Stop...Superbowl XL
We are down to the final four in the NFL, and they will be playing later this afternoon to see who plays in Super Bowl 40...or Super Bowl XL...or Super Bowl eXtra Large. At 3:00 EST, the AFC Championship will be played as Pittsburgh goes to the mile-high city to take on Denver. Immediately afterwards, at 6:30 EST, it's the NFC's turn, as Carolina is in Seattle to do battle. Here's what I'm expecting to happen:
(#6) Pittsburgh Steelers at (#2) Denver Broncos (-3) - Both of these teams are very familiar with the playoffs and the Super Bowl. The Broncos have put together a solid season and have been quietly beating team after team, including taking out the 2-time defending Champion New England Patriots last week. The Steelers had some early struggles this year, but have been on fire over the last half of the season and the playoffs, including an impressive win over the #1 seed, Indianapolis Colts, last weekend. So, what happens now? Both teams can't win, so which one comes out on top? My money is on Pittsburgh. Sure, Bill Cowher is known to fall apart in the playoffs, but the Steelers have just looked too darn good to be stopped. I expected them to fall apart in Indy last week, and they almost did, but they held on and won. I don't think Denver is as good as Indy. Sure they beat the Pats last weekend, but like I said in my previous post, the Pats pretty much beat themselves. The Steelers have a great team all around. They can beat you on the ground...they can beat you through the air...and they can beat you on defense, and although Denver has a pretty solid well-balanced team as well, I just think Pittsburgh is a little bit better in every area. They don't seem to have a problem winning on the road, either, which they will have to do today to move on to the Super Bowl...and they will. PIT 24 DEN 17
(#5) Carolina Panthers at (#1) Seattle Seahawks (-3.5) - The question in this game is whether or not league MVP, Shaun Alexander, will play for Seattle. Alexander suffered a concussion last weekend against the Redskins, but appears to be healthy enough to get out in the field. He is fully expected to play in today's game. On the other side of the field, the Panthers have lost their top two RB's Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster and are forced to start 3rd-stringer, Nick Goings. Goings is a suitable replacement, but he has never played in a game this important, so nerves could play a factor. Carolina could be forced to the air early and often if Seattle can build a lead, but the Panthers are fully capable of scoring through the air with the NFL's leader in receptions, Steve Smith, on the team and healthy. He has 103 receptions for 1563 yards and 12 TD's in 2005 not to mention 22 receptions for 302 yards and 3 TD's in the Panthers 2 playoff games. Both teams have above average defenses, but this game could easily turn out to be a high-scoring shootout with all the offensive weapons on both sides of the field, but I think it will be Seattle who pulls out the victory by controlling the clock with a healthy dose of Shaun Alexander. SEA 31 CAR 27
(#6) Pittsburgh Steelers at (#2) Denver Broncos (-3) - Both of these teams are very familiar with the playoffs and the Super Bowl. The Broncos have put together a solid season and have been quietly beating team after team, including taking out the 2-time defending Champion New England Patriots last week. The Steelers had some early struggles this year, but have been on fire over the last half of the season and the playoffs, including an impressive win over the #1 seed, Indianapolis Colts, last weekend. So, what happens now? Both teams can't win, so which one comes out on top? My money is on Pittsburgh. Sure, Bill Cowher is known to fall apart in the playoffs, but the Steelers have just looked too darn good to be stopped. I expected them to fall apart in Indy last week, and they almost did, but they held on and won. I don't think Denver is as good as Indy. Sure they beat the Pats last weekend, but like I said in my previous post, the Pats pretty much beat themselves. The Steelers have a great team all around. They can beat you on the ground...they can beat you through the air...and they can beat you on defense, and although Denver has a pretty solid well-balanced team as well, I just think Pittsburgh is a little bit better in every area. They don't seem to have a problem winning on the road, either, which they will have to do today to move on to the Super Bowl...and they will. PIT 24 DEN 17
(#5) Carolina Panthers at (#1) Seattle Seahawks (-3.5) - The question in this game is whether or not league MVP, Shaun Alexander, will play for Seattle. Alexander suffered a concussion last weekend against the Redskins, but appears to be healthy enough to get out in the field. He is fully expected to play in today's game. On the other side of the field, the Panthers have lost their top two RB's Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster and are forced to start 3rd-stringer, Nick Goings. Goings is a suitable replacement, but he has never played in a game this important, so nerves could play a factor. Carolina could be forced to the air early and often if Seattle can build a lead, but the Panthers are fully capable of scoring through the air with the NFL's leader in receptions, Steve Smith, on the team and healthy. He has 103 receptions for 1563 yards and 12 TD's in 2005 not to mention 22 receptions for 302 yards and 3 TD's in the Panthers 2 playoff games. Both teams have above average defenses, but this game could easily turn out to be a high-scoring shootout with all the offensive weapons on both sides of the field, but I think it will be Seattle who pulls out the victory by controlling the clock with a healthy dose of Shaun Alexander. SEA 31 CAR 27
2 for 4 revisited
Well...my record for the NFL playoffs didn't get much better. When it comes to the NFL, I like to think of myself as a knowledgeable guy. I also think that I know a lot more about the AFC than the NFC because the teams I pay attention to the most, Miami and New England, are AFC teams. Therefore, I tend to analyze their opponents and AFC competition more. Maybe my problem is that I analyze it so much, that I go a little crazy and overanalyze everything and throw my brain off. I'll have to test this theory next year, but my first indication came last week when I got both prediction son the NFC games right and both AFC predictions wrong.
I never expected Denver to beat the Patriots, and in my own opinion, they didn't. Of course you're looking at the score and saying "Whatchootalkinabout, Willis?". Well, let's look at the game a little closer. The Broncos didn't dominate the time of possession, they only held the ball 3 minutes longer than the Pats. Tom Brady threw for 341 yards to jake Plummers 197, and the Pats led in total yards, 420-286. The big problem was turnovers. New England fumbled a kickoff and a punt which Denver recovered. They also fumbled on a drive in their own territory which led to a Denver TD. On top of that Tom Brady threw 2 interceptions, one of which was run back 100 yards and led to another Denver TD. That's 5 turnovers in the game for the Patriots. When was the last time that ever happened to a Belichick-coached team? Can you remember? Yeah, neither can I. Denver scored 24 of their 27 points as a result of New England turnovers. So, yes, Denver won the game 27-13, but they certainly didn't beat the Patriots. The Patriots beat themselves...but that is NFL Playoff football.
In the other AFC matchup, the Steelers beat the Colts in their own home. Pittsburgh surprisingly started out with an incredible aerial attack in the beginning of the game. Not what you'd expect from a ground attack type of team. The Steelers jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, then held a 21-3 lead. Indy couldn't seem to get their offensive into high gear as they had much trouble protecting Peyton Manning from an amazing Steelers defense which had 5 sacks and an interception was wrongfully taken away by an inept referee. The Colts finally got things going in the 4th quarter as they battled back to within 3 points, 21-18. This led to one of the most wild endings I have seen in a football game in a while. After the Colts defense held their ground to give the offense a shot to try and tie or win the game, the Colts were forced to go for it on 4th and 16 from their own 12 yard line. Unfortunately they never had a chance, as Blitzburgh came at Manning from all over and sacked him at the 2 yard line with 1:27 left in the game. The Steelers take over but instead of running out the clock on a kneel-down, they give the ball to the sure-handed Jerome Bettis to go for a touchdown and out the game out of reach. Bettis pounds the ball up the middle only to have a Colts defender knock the ball out of his hands. The ball is quickly scooped up by the speedy Nick Harper of Indy, who takes off down the field. The only man he has to beat is Steelers QB, Ben Roethlisberger, who is not speedy. Instead of running to the outside where he would have easily outrun the lumbering QB, Harper cuts it back to the middle of the field and right at Big Ben, who dives at Harpers legs and takes him down at the Colts 42 yard line with 1:01 left in the game. The Colts drive to the Steelers 28 to give kicker, Mike Vanderjagt a chance to tie it up from 46 yards away. As you would expect from the "Most Accurate Kicker" in the game...he MISSED IT??? It was wide right...WAY WIDE RIGHT. Pittsburgh kneels the ball and the game is over. WOW...what an ending!!!
Over in the NFC, nothing surprising happened. The Seahawks beat the Redskins even though league MVP, Shaun Alexander, was out for most of the game with a concussion. They still had too much offense for the Redskins to overcome.
In the other game, Carolina went into Chicago and took out the #2 seed in a game that was unexpectedly more offense than defense. For once, the Bears offense outplayed their defense, but it wasn't enough to outgun the Panthers.
This takes us to the Conference Championships, which will be played later today to see who goes to Detroit to play in Super Bowl eXtra Large. My predictions will be posted shortly. Stay tuned!
I never expected Denver to beat the Patriots, and in my own opinion, they didn't. Of course you're looking at the score and saying "Whatchootalkinabout, Willis?". Well, let's look at the game a little closer. The Broncos didn't dominate the time of possession, they only held the ball 3 minutes longer than the Pats. Tom Brady threw for 341 yards to jake Plummers 197, and the Pats led in total yards, 420-286. The big problem was turnovers. New England fumbled a kickoff and a punt which Denver recovered. They also fumbled on a drive in their own territory which led to a Denver TD. On top of that Tom Brady threw 2 interceptions, one of which was run back 100 yards and led to another Denver TD. That's 5 turnovers in the game for the Patriots. When was the last time that ever happened to a Belichick-coached team? Can you remember? Yeah, neither can I. Denver scored 24 of their 27 points as a result of New England turnovers. So, yes, Denver won the game 27-13, but they certainly didn't beat the Patriots. The Patriots beat themselves...but that is NFL Playoff football.
In the other AFC matchup, the Steelers beat the Colts in their own home. Pittsburgh surprisingly started out with an incredible aerial attack in the beginning of the game. Not what you'd expect from a ground attack type of team. The Steelers jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, then held a 21-3 lead. Indy couldn't seem to get their offensive into high gear as they had much trouble protecting Peyton Manning from an amazing Steelers defense which had 5 sacks and an interception was wrongfully taken away by an inept referee. The Colts finally got things going in the 4th quarter as they battled back to within 3 points, 21-18. This led to one of the most wild endings I have seen in a football game in a while. After the Colts defense held their ground to give the offense a shot to try and tie or win the game, the Colts were forced to go for it on 4th and 16 from their own 12 yard line. Unfortunately they never had a chance, as Blitzburgh came at Manning from all over and sacked him at the 2 yard line with 1:27 left in the game. The Steelers take over but instead of running out the clock on a kneel-down, they give the ball to the sure-handed Jerome Bettis to go for a touchdown and out the game out of reach. Bettis pounds the ball up the middle only to have a Colts defender knock the ball out of his hands. The ball is quickly scooped up by the speedy Nick Harper of Indy, who takes off down the field. The only man he has to beat is Steelers QB, Ben Roethlisberger, who is not speedy. Instead of running to the outside where he would have easily outrun the lumbering QB, Harper cuts it back to the middle of the field and right at Big Ben, who dives at Harpers legs and takes him down at the Colts 42 yard line with 1:01 left in the game. The Colts drive to the Steelers 28 to give kicker, Mike Vanderjagt a chance to tie it up from 46 yards away. As you would expect from the "Most Accurate Kicker" in the game...he MISSED IT??? It was wide right...WAY WIDE RIGHT. Pittsburgh kneels the ball and the game is over. WOW...what an ending!!!
Over in the NFC, nothing surprising happened. The Seahawks beat the Redskins even though league MVP, Shaun Alexander, was out for most of the game with a concussion. They still had too much offense for the Redskins to overcome.
In the other game, Carolina went into Chicago and took out the #2 seed in a game that was unexpectedly more offense than defense. For once, the Bears offense outplayed their defense, but it wasn't enough to outgun the Panthers.
This takes us to the Conference Championships, which will be played later today to see who goes to Detroit to play in Super Bowl eXtra Large. My predictions will be posted shortly. Stay tuned!
Friday, January 13, 2006
2 for 4
I haven't been writing too much about serious subjects, and I probably won't until after the Super Bowl, so just bear with me until then. Thanks.
So, last week, I was 2 for 4 in my playoff predictions. Who could've predicted, though, that Carson Palmer would tear his ACL on his first passing play of the game against Pittsburgh? Would the Bengals have won with Palmer? We'll never know, but they would have had a good chance in my opinion. As far as the Bucs/Redskins game, I have no excuse for that one. It came down to the Redskins defense causing turnovers and then turning them into points. It was a good close game that could have gone either way, but the Redskins pulled out the win. NE spanked Jacksonville much like I expected and Carolina totally dismantled the Giants. I thought the Giants would at least score some points, but dang! Carolina is looking good...especially when they are healthy.
So, here's what's on the schedule for this weekend along with my predictions. Let's hope I do better this time:
Saturday, January 14th
(#6) Washington Redskins at (#1) Seattle Seahawks (-9) - This is a rematch from Week 4 when Washington squeaked out a 3 point win at home in OT...a game which Seattle could easily have won if not for kicker Josh Brown's last second field goal attempt bouncing off the left upright at the end of regulation. This time around, Seattle is at home and they want revenge. They will get it behind league MVP, 2005 rushing champ and TD machine Shaun Alexander. Washington's defense will not be enough to save them this time as Seattle moves on to the NFC championship. SEA 24 WAS 14
(#4) New England Patriots at (#2) Denver Broncos (-3) - In Week 6, these two teams met in Denver with Denver pullilng out a 28-20 victory. Back then, though, the Pats were without Corey Dillon and their defense was still trying to figure out how to play without their leader, Tedy Bruschi. As everyone knows, Bruschi returned to the team as a player 2 weeks later and they are a much healthier team all around. The defense is much better and the offense is firing on all cylinders. Denver will try to control the tempo of the game with their rushing attack, but it won't be as easy as it was so long ago. This will probably be the best game this weekend, but once again, I give the edge to the Pats because Coach Belichick always finds a way to win these types of games in the playoffs. NE 27 DEN 24 in OT.
Sunday January 8th
(#6) Pittsburgh Steelers at (#1) Indianapolis Colts (-9.5) - Another rematch. In Week 12, the Colts overwhelmed the Steelers in a 26-7 win at home. Not much has changed for either team since then. Pittsburgh offense seems to have gotten better, but Indy's is still superior. Both teams have pretty good defenses, but the the Steelers secondary is overmatched and won't be able to contain Peyton Manning and the Colts passing attack. Pittsburgh will make this game a little closer than their last meeting, but the outcome will still be the same in the loss column. The Colts advance to a rematch with the Pats for the AFC Championship. IND 31 PIT 21
(#5) Carolina Panthers at (#2) Chicago Bears (-3) - Hey what a surprise...it's another rematch from the regular season. In Week 11, the Bears pulled out a 13-3 win at home in a defensive battle with the Panthers. This time will be a lot different though as there is a lot more on the line. The Panthers have a lot more playoff experience, having been to the Super Bowl only two short years ago. The Bears, however are a young team and haven't been this far into the playoffs in many years...I can't even remember how long ago it was. The place where they are lacking the most experience is probably the most important position on the team, quarterback. Rex Grossman is 25, Kyle Orton is 23 and neither have been in a game this big before. Sure, the Bears defense is probably the best in the league, but Carolina's is pretty darn good too. So, this game could come down to defense and who makes the most mistakes, which is why Carolina's experience makes the difference in the end. Carolina moves on to face Seattle for the NFC Championship. CAR 14 CHI 9
So, last week, I was 2 for 4 in my playoff predictions. Who could've predicted, though, that Carson Palmer would tear his ACL on his first passing play of the game against Pittsburgh? Would the Bengals have won with Palmer? We'll never know, but they would have had a good chance in my opinion. As far as the Bucs/Redskins game, I have no excuse for that one. It came down to the Redskins defense causing turnovers and then turning them into points. It was a good close game that could have gone either way, but the Redskins pulled out the win. NE spanked Jacksonville much like I expected and Carolina totally dismantled the Giants. I thought the Giants would at least score some points, but dang! Carolina is looking good...especially when they are healthy.
So, here's what's on the schedule for this weekend along with my predictions. Let's hope I do better this time:
Saturday, January 14th
(#6) Washington Redskins at (#1) Seattle Seahawks (-9) - This is a rematch from Week 4 when Washington squeaked out a 3 point win at home in OT...a game which Seattle could easily have won if not for kicker Josh Brown's last second field goal attempt bouncing off the left upright at the end of regulation. This time around, Seattle is at home and they want revenge. They will get it behind league MVP, 2005 rushing champ and TD machine Shaun Alexander. Washington's defense will not be enough to save them this time as Seattle moves on to the NFC championship. SEA 24 WAS 14
(#4) New England Patriots at (#2) Denver Broncos (-3) - In Week 6, these two teams met in Denver with Denver pullilng out a 28-20 victory. Back then, though, the Pats were without Corey Dillon and their defense was still trying to figure out how to play without their leader, Tedy Bruschi. As everyone knows, Bruschi returned to the team as a player 2 weeks later and they are a much healthier team all around. The defense is much better and the offense is firing on all cylinders. Denver will try to control the tempo of the game with their rushing attack, but it won't be as easy as it was so long ago. This will probably be the best game this weekend, but once again, I give the edge to the Pats because Coach Belichick always finds a way to win these types of games in the playoffs. NE 27 DEN 24 in OT.
Sunday January 8th
(#6) Pittsburgh Steelers at (#1) Indianapolis Colts (-9.5) - Another rematch. In Week 12, the Colts overwhelmed the Steelers in a 26-7 win at home. Not much has changed for either team since then. Pittsburgh offense seems to have gotten better, but Indy's is still superior. Both teams have pretty good defenses, but the the Steelers secondary is overmatched and won't be able to contain Peyton Manning and the Colts passing attack. Pittsburgh will make this game a little closer than their last meeting, but the outcome will still be the same in the loss column. The Colts advance to a rematch with the Pats for the AFC Championship. IND 31 PIT 21
(#5) Carolina Panthers at (#2) Chicago Bears (-3) - Hey what a surprise...it's another rematch from the regular season. In Week 11, the Bears pulled out a 13-3 win at home in a defensive battle with the Panthers. This time will be a lot different though as there is a lot more on the line. The Panthers have a lot more playoff experience, having been to the Super Bowl only two short years ago. The Bears, however are a young team and haven't been this far into the playoffs in many years...I can't even remember how long ago it was. The place where they are lacking the most experience is probably the most important position on the team, quarterback. Rex Grossman is 25, Kyle Orton is 23 and neither have been in a game this big before. Sure, the Bears defense is probably the best in the league, but Carolina's is pretty darn good too. So, this game could come down to defense and who makes the most mistakes, which is why Carolina's experience makes the difference in the end. Carolina moves on to face Seattle for the NFC Championship. CAR 14 CHI 9
Thursday, January 05, 2006
I'm baaaaaaaack!!!
Hey everyone,
Now that the 2005 holiday season is over and life is getting back to normal, I should be able to post more often...hopefully. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmahanukwanzika and a Happy New Year.
Many things have happened in the sports world since my last post. After the Bruins traded away their best player, they still suck...go figure. The Celtics aren't that much better, but at least they have potential. The Red Sox seem to be falling apart at the seams. They lost their GM. They traded away Edgar Renteria for Atlanta's top prospect. They lost arguably the best leadoff man in the game in Johnny Damon to the hated Yankees who could now have the best lineup ever assembled. On top of that, they are potentially being forced to trade away Manny Ramierez. Ugh...maybe they could trade him to the Yankees for some new bats and a bag of used balls. That's the only way things could get worse. So...onto the one thing that remains constant in New England sports...the Patriots!
Once again, the New England Patriots have won the AFC East and are in the playoffs to go after their 3rd Super Bowl victory in a row and 4th in 5 years. Although I am a Dolphins fan, I still root for the Pats when Miami is out of the running. The playoffs begin this Saturday, so here's the rundown of who's playing and my predictions for each game.
Wild Card Round:
Saturday, January 7th
(#6) Washington Redskins at (#3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-2.5) - This is a rematch of a classic battle these two teams had earlier in the year in which the Bucs squeaked out 1 point victory at home 36-35. I see this game being a little more defensive than that, but the Bucs still come out on top behind Offensive Rookie of the Year RB Carnell Williams. TB - 17 WAS - 14
(#5) Jacksonville Jaguars at (#4) New England Patriots (-8) - The Jaguars are in the playoffs because they benefited from one of the easiest schedules in the league. That doesn't mean the Pats should overlook them though. Bill Belichick could be the greatest coach of all time and he will have his team ready for this game. The Pats will win big at home. NE - 35 JAC - 10
Sunday January 8th
(#5) Carolina Panthers at (#4) New York Giants (-2.5) - A great matchup of two very similar teams. They both like to run the ball a lot but still go for some big pass plays throughout the game. I see the winner of this game being whoever wins the turnover battle. Right now, NYG QB Eli Manning is not playing his best football and loses his first playoff game. CAR 24 NYG 20
(#6) Pittsburgh Steelers (-3) at (#3) Cincinnati Bengals - Another great matchup of division rivals. Earlier in the year, Pittsburgh won in Cincy. Then in Week 13, the Bengals went into Pittsburgh and came out victorious. Pittsburgh is on a 4 game win streak, while Cincinnati is on a 2 game losing streak, which is probably why the Steelers are favored by 3 on the road. For Cincy to win, their Defense needs to step up and shut down the Steelers run game. I am very interested in this game, as it could go either way, but I'll give the edge to the home team in a mild upset. CIN 28 PIT 27
Now that the 2005 holiday season is over and life is getting back to normal, I should be able to post more often...hopefully. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmahanukwanzika and a Happy New Year.
Many things have happened in the sports world since my last post. After the Bruins traded away their best player, they still suck...go figure. The Celtics aren't that much better, but at least they have potential. The Red Sox seem to be falling apart at the seams. They lost their GM. They traded away Edgar Renteria for Atlanta's top prospect. They lost arguably the best leadoff man in the game in Johnny Damon to the hated Yankees who could now have the best lineup ever assembled. On top of that, they are potentially being forced to trade away Manny Ramierez. Ugh...maybe they could trade him to the Yankees for some new bats and a bag of used balls. That's the only way things could get worse. So...onto the one thing that remains constant in New England sports...the Patriots!
Once again, the New England Patriots have won the AFC East and are in the playoffs to go after their 3rd Super Bowl victory in a row and 4th in 5 years. Although I am a Dolphins fan, I still root for the Pats when Miami is out of the running. The playoffs begin this Saturday, so here's the rundown of who's playing and my predictions for each game.
Wild Card Round:
Saturday, January 7th
(#6) Washington Redskins at (#3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-2.5) - This is a rematch of a classic battle these two teams had earlier in the year in which the Bucs squeaked out 1 point victory at home 36-35. I see this game being a little more defensive than that, but the Bucs still come out on top behind Offensive Rookie of the Year RB Carnell Williams. TB - 17 WAS - 14
(#5) Jacksonville Jaguars at (#4) New England Patriots (-8) - The Jaguars are in the playoffs because they benefited from one of the easiest schedules in the league. That doesn't mean the Pats should overlook them though. Bill Belichick could be the greatest coach of all time and he will have his team ready for this game. The Pats will win big at home. NE - 35 JAC - 10
Sunday January 8th
(#5) Carolina Panthers at (#4) New York Giants (-2.5) - A great matchup of two very similar teams. They both like to run the ball a lot but still go for some big pass plays throughout the game. I see the winner of this game being whoever wins the turnover battle. Right now, NYG QB Eli Manning is not playing his best football and loses his first playoff game. CAR 24 NYG 20
(#6) Pittsburgh Steelers (-3) at (#3) Cincinnati Bengals - Another great matchup of division rivals. Earlier in the year, Pittsburgh won in Cincy. Then in Week 13, the Bengals went into Pittsburgh and came out victorious. Pittsburgh is on a 4 game win streak, while Cincinnati is on a 2 game losing streak, which is probably why the Steelers are favored by 3 on the road. For Cincy to win, their Defense needs to step up and shut down the Steelers run game. I am very interested in this game, as it could go either way, but I'll give the edge to the home team in a mild upset. CIN 28 PIT 27
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