Baseball is Poop - Division Series

162 Games and It All Comes Down to This
The Yankees and the Phillies were the best teams on paper going into the season, and on grass during the season. And then in 5 games, poof, it's gone. The Yankees had a glaring hole in their rotation, exacerbated when CC Sabathia could really only pitch one game. But then again, AJ Burnett gave them much more than expected in Game 4. The Phillies rotation almost lived up to expectations in the series, but their offense completely deserted them. These are the two teams in the league I hate most, so I don't feel sad at all, but I do think it is kind of unfair that the best record over 162 games seems to matter so little in a 5 or 7 game series.

Numbers Don't Lie
There is always a big debate among statistically-inclined fans (of which I am one) and those who believe in "clutch" performances (I'm in that camp too). The statheads say a player who gets hits or home runs at a certain rate during the regular season, will eventually revert to that same pace in the postseason (with a minor adjustment for facing better pitchers. But this game is played by human beings not robots. And it's clear whenever Alex Rodriguez gets up in a key spot his brain prevents his body from performing at its normal level. A-Rod had two more big strikeouts in Game 5 against the Detroit, the killer in the 7th with one out and the bases loaded and the formality to end the game. If you look at his total postseason record it actually isn't terrible, 884 OPS in 299 plate appearances (better than Jeter, btw). But he has had some really awesome series (all 3 in 2009, and the ones he played in before becoming a Yankee) and some terrible ones (the two against Detroit come to mind). But he has struck out 64 times in 299 PAs, a very high rate, which occasionally leads to him walking off the field sullenly while someone celebrates behind him.



A Tiger Triple is Possible
Justin Verlander is a lock to win the AL Cy Young and a near-lock to win the MVP as well. With only 4 teams left he has a roughly 25% chance of winning the World Series too. The last two times a pitcher won a World Series, the Cy Young and the MVP in the same series they were both Tigers. Gulliermo Hernandez in 1984 and Denny McLain in 1968.

No One Ever Uses Magnificent in Front of Allen Craig's Name
In Game 3 of the Phillies-Cardinals series, the Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the 8th inning. They were trailing 3-1 with Allen Craig up and The Magnificent Pooh Holes on deck. This was not second-guessing, I said before the at bat, Craig should have struck out on purpose. It seems crazy but I really liked their chances better with Pooh Holes up and two outs. Craig grounded into a double play and Pooh Holes led off the next inning with a double. But the Cardinals lost 3-2.

Revisiting The Last Night of the Regular Season
There has been a lot of talk about expanding the playoffs, maybe by one more team in each league and having the two wild card teams play a one-game "series" to strengthen the advantage of winning your division (would certainly give a rotational advantage). At first I was in favor, but now I have changed my mind. That great final night of the season would have been meaningless because Boston, Tampa Bay, St. Louis and Atlanta would have all sewn up spots. And I know an exciting race could still happen between the 5th and 6th teams in each league, but I think that is watering it down a little too much. You'd have barely adequate teams competing for final playoff spots, like in hockey and basketball. Better to keep it to only the very best teams, so we can continue to get exciting well-played playoff series.

Can't Buy Me Love
With the elimination of the Phillies and Yankees, none of the four remaining teams is in the top 9 highest payrolls. The Tigers are 10th, Cardinals 11th, Rangers 13th and the small-market Brewers are 17th. It will be interesting to see if that changes next year as both NL teams have free agent first basemen who will surely get $20m per year contracts. I expect Pooh Holes to stay with St. Louis, but Fielder is almost certainly a goner.

Have an Easy Fast Everyone

A very observant Jew in Philadelphia went to his rabbi to complain that he wouldn't be able to watch the Phillies game tonight:
"Rabbi, why does God do this to us. All my gentile friends get to watch the game and I have to be at Kol Nidre and I can't watch the game."
The rabbi said "don't worry, this is why God created the DVR."
"You mean I can DVR Kol Nidre?"

Song of the Week

"How Bout Us" - Champaign
"Some people are made for each other
Some can love one another for life
How bout us"
One of the best songs of 1981

The NFL is Poop - Week 4

Roaring Back
The Lions have to stop doing this to their poor fans. They are going to be responsible for an increase in heart attacks in Michigan. For the second straight week the Lions fell behind by 20+ points, and for the second straight week they won the game. This is a double-edged sword. Sure it's great that Matthew Stafford keeps bringing them back and Calvin Johnson keeps catching touchdowns like Noah (in 2s, get it?) but they can't keep coming back like this. Can they?

Many Happy Returns
The Jets and Ravens combined to put up 51 points, while their quarterbacks each had ratings in the 30s. So how did they put up so many points? Return TDs. 5 of the 6 TDs in the game were returns. 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles and a kickoff. Amazing performance by the defense and special teams (can't totally blame the QBs when Sanchez is getting smashed in the back by Ed Reed), but a mostly shitty one by Flacco and Sanchez.

Many Happy Returns Part II
Devin Hester aka Windy City Flyer set the NFL record with his 11th career punt return for a touchdown. He also had a 73-yard kickoff return to set up a touchdown. He has 4 kickoff return TDs, giving him a record 15 combined kick return TDs.



A Giant Break
The Giants got a huge break when the referees ruled Victor Cruz down, having given himself up, instead of ruling it a fumble. Everyone is debating whether it was the right call, but no one is answering the key question: when did the whistle blow? If the whistle blew when he was on the ground then the refs made the right call, regardless of whether they actually should have ruled him down as the rule dictates, if they blew the whistle, then Cruz was right to lay the ball down. If they never blew the whistle, then the play was not over and should have been ruled a fumble.



Admiral Ackbar Tried to Warn Them
Often times teams coming off big wins over quality opponents will then suffer an embarrassing defeat to an inferior opponent the very next game. This is commonly known as a "Trap Game." The Buffalo Bills fell into that trap, losing to the Bengals 23-20. The letdown was even worse considering they had a 17-3 lead. With the Eagles, Giants, Redskins and Jets in the next four game we will soon know whether the Bills are for real.



Picture of the Week
A game-torn jersey? This one actually held up pretty well as the Texans tried to rip it off Ben Roethlisberger's body.



Brief Rant About the Redskins
The Redskins should be 4-0 right now and the toast of the league. But I have to be satisfied with 3-1, considering my expectations going into this season. Rex Grossman has done a decent job of building leads and not blowing them. Well, maybe the defense deserves more credit for not blowing these games. Against Arizona and now St. Louis, the D had to hold off a furious comeback. And with the next 7 games against very beatable teams, I think the Redskins have good chance to be 7-4 or maybe even 8-3 going into Decemeber.

If the NFC Championship Game Were Played Today
Green Bay Packers 35 Detroit Lions 34
The only two unbeaten teams in the league are both in the NFC. They are both very exciting. And if they both keep this up they could well meet for the third time this season in the NFC title game.

Weekly Picks

Burned by the push again. Not off to a good start with only 7 points but as usual my overall record of 8-7 is still decent, above .500.

pittsburgh +3 1/2 HOUSTON
Let Houston win this game by 3. I really think the Texans are overrated and the Steelers should bounce back after a subpar effort against the Colts.

TAMPA BAY -10 indianapolis
I really think the Colts are putrid and I like the ExpensiveCornPrices. The crowd should be jacked for a Monday Night game. Even though I don't believe in that sort of thing. I just like the 'Prices.

detroit +2 1/2 DALLAS
Detroit is not going to give the Cowboys and Tony Romo a free pass the way the Redskins did. I also expect Detroit to play a little better offensively than they did last week when they stunk it up for the first half.

SAN DIEGO -7 miami
The Dolphins are a bad team. I like the Chargers to break through, they are 0-3 ATS so far this year. That can't last forever. St. Louis is also 0-3 ATS and the Raiders are 3-0. Everyone else is 1-2 or 2-1. That is why no one ever comes out ahead betting on football.

BEST BET
new england -6 OAKLAND
The Patriots are going to be angry.

Last week: 2-3 (1 point)
Season: 8-7 (7 points)
Best Bets: 0-1 (1-2)
Home Favorites: 2-0 (4-1)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (0-0)
Road Favorites: 0-2 (1-4)
Road Underdogs: 0-1 (3-2)

Playoff Predictions

Division Series:
Diamondbacks over Brewers (5 games)
Phillies over Cardinals (3 games)
Yankees over Tigers (4 games)
Rangers over Rays (5 games)

League Championship Series:
Phillies over Diamondbacks (5 games)
Yankees over Rangers (6 games)

World Series:
Phillies over Yankees (6 games)

Baseball is Poop

Oh What a Night
They're calling it Wild Card Wednesday. Four teams went into the day tied for two spots. And the Braves and Red Sox had blown leads of 8 1/2 and 9 games in September. The Braves and Rays were facing their toughest division rivals, teams already in the playoffs, and the Cardinals and Red Sox were facing last place teams. The NL was just a footnote, the Cardinals blew out Houston and the Braves lost to the Phillies in extra innings. After rookie closer Craig Kimbrel blew the save in the 9th.
But the real action came in the AL where the Red Sox held a 3-2 lead (with the help of a scoreless inning from Daniel Bard and his 11.70 ERA in September). But Jonathan Papelbon blew it in the bottom of the 9th. Meaning the Red Sox needed the Yankees to win. But the Yankees blew (on purpose?) a 7-0 lead to the Rays, and in the bottom of the 12th, just minutes after Papelbon's implosion, Evan Longoria homered inside the foul pole to give the Rays the AL wild card.



The only other walk-off home run to clinch a playoff spot in the team's final game of the season, was the Shot Heard Round the World by Bobby Thomson.

So Close
The Amazing Pooh Holes came into the final game of the season with a chance to extend his 10-year streak of hitting at least .300 with 30 homers and 100 RBI. It was the longest such streak in major league history. That streak is over. But his streak of 11 seasons batting at least .299 with 30 homers and 99 RBI was extended to 11 years.

No Way Jose
I'm very disappointed with the way Jose Reyes went about winning the batting title. I thought the bunt was a little cheap, but acceptable, but pulling himself out of the game goes against the spirit of competition. You either win the title by competing hard or you lose it. He did deserve the title because he played great all season, it was just a sour note to end the season. And even more sour because it's likely the last game he'll ever play as a Met.



Picture of the Week
Ryan Roberts rounding the bases pays tribute to his manager, Kirk Gibson, by imitating the home run trot Gibson used in the 1988 World Series. Roberts hit a walkoff grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning after Micah Owings had given up 5 runs in the top of the inning.

Jesus, The Professor and the Ponzi Scheme

The Department of Justice amended its complaint against Full Tilt Poker, alleging the online site was a giant Ponzi Scheme.
When the site was shut down for U.S. players in April for illegally processing player deposits, many players expected to be fully repaid for the account balances which they could no longer use.
PokerStars repaid players in an expeditious fashion. Full Tilt did not, because it could not. According to the DOJ, player accounts totaled $440 million, but Full Tilt only had $60 million on hand.
And here's where the Ponzi Scheme accusation comes in: the site's owners and directors, including famous poker pros Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Howard "The Professor" Lederer are alleged to have been paid millions over this time, $40m to Lederer and $25m to Ferguson (though he was promised much more because he owned nearly 20% of the company).
Full Tilt says it was not a Ponzi Scheme it just got in trouble because it got scammed by a payment processor and in other cases it elected to fund player accounts before the payments actually cleared. And when those payments didn't materialize, a huge hole grew. And when Full Tilt got shut down in the U.S. it had no way to fill that hole.
Obviously, no matter what happened, Full Tilt had an obligation to keep most if not all of player money in a liquid account (they can invest it and earn interest). But there are a couple extenuating circumstances here. We don't know for sure if Full Tilt intended to be a Ponzi Scheme or it just became one when they ran into trouble collecting funds.
But most importantly, internet poker should not be illegal. I lost less than $5 in this incident. I also lost my chance to play poker from my home, a hobby I greatly enjoy. But what I have been robbed of most of all is televised poker.
The World Series of Poker will likely survive because it can get other sponsors, but it may end up being the only poker show on TV. Because they cannot survive without the sponsorships from the poker sites.
But I've probably watched my last episode of Poker After Dark and The Big Game (although this still airs online), which is the best poker show for advanced players.
And that's what has me so angry. I can't even watch what I want on TV because of the government. And though many in the poker community are hopeful this will get repealed and internet poker will be legal and regulated, I don't think that will ever happen.
And it's a damn shame.

L'Shana Tova

May 5772 be the best year yet.
"Everyday I'm shecklin"

Song of the Week

"Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)"
This song hit the top of the charts in 1971, 40 years ago. The Temptations had already several personnel changes up to this point. They had begun to transition into the psychadelic style that was becoming popular. This song was a throwback to the bluesy, harmonies that made them famous in the 1960s.

The NFL is Poop - Week 3

Bills Beat Brady
It's too early to tell if the Bills are for real, but they are certainly exciting. Their second straight huge comeback at home. It certainly looks like their offense is going to be strong with Harvard quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, a good running game and a big group of fast wide receivers. Their defense is questionable though, even with 4 interceptions, a couple of them were lucky. And they are still allowing a lot of points. After Cincinnati the schedule gets a little tougher. As for the Patriots, they are still a great team and I think they can still go on an historical offense roll if they can get their defense in shape is another matter.

The Lions Roar Back
The other surprising 3-0 team, the Detroit Lions, also needed a big comeback to stay unblemished. It's their first 3-0 start since 1980. And they did it was Matt Stafford to Calvin Johnson and some nasty defensive pressure from Suh and Crew. Not sure why they were so bad in the first half but it doesn't matter. Detroit became the first team to get shutout in the first half and trail by 20 points or more and come back to win since the Chicago Bears did that against Arizona Cardinals. Remember that game?



How's That Donovan McNabb experiment working out?
Through 3 games Donovan McNabb has presided over 3 Vikings collapses. Minnesota has blown 10-point halftime leads in all 3 games. And McNabb's offense has scored 6 points combined in the three second halves. This goes back to something I said last season, when the game is on the line, he just cannot make the plays needed to win games. The fact is, McNabb used to be good, but he isn't anymore. Minnesota needs to transition to Christian Ponder at some point this season.

Let's See Him Keep That Up
The first 3 catches of Torrey Smith's career were 74-yard, 41-yard and 18-yard touchdowns. All in the first quarter. A pretty good way to start a career.



A Brief Rant About the Redskins
This is the difference between winning teams and losing ones: putting games away. Just an atrocious performance at the end of that game -- in fact the whole game. Missed field goals, fumbles, bad play-calling in the red zone. And most regrettably several plays where the ball was snapped way over Tony Romo's head, and the Redskins could recover. One of those plays Romo actually flung the ball and got a completed pass -- avoiding a big loss. Now it wasn't one play that cost us the game, more like 6 or 8, but the most galling was allowing a 30 yard reception on 3rd and 21 (with the game on the line, they would have had to have gone for it on 4th down) and then tacking on a 15-yard facemask, basically giving the Cowboys the game. The Redskins schedule remains fairly easy for the next 8 games (especially if neither the Eagles nor the Bills are for real) but they have to start making those crucial plays that win -- and lose games.

Pictures of the Week
A sudden monsoon turned the first half of the Panthers-Jaguars game into a sloppy water-logged contest. At one point a replay review was made nearly impossible because the camera lenses were so wet you couldn't make out the play between the drops.

3000 Words

Labrador Retriever Hawkeye lies next to the casket at the funeral for his owner Navy SEAL John Tumilson who was killed when he his chopper was shot down in Afghanistan.



Man born with 6 fingers on each hand



Dodgers fan expresses his dissatisfaction with the team's current financial state

What Do You Give Me For? Herman Cain and South Park's Johnnie Cochran

What do you give me for Presidential candidate Herman Cain and Johnnie Cochran, as depicted on South Park?

Weekly Picks

A good week finally though I needed my best bet to rally from 17-0 down and a somewhat favorable spread getting 4 with the Raiders. But a junk touchdown by Carolina cost me a perfect 6.

pittsburgh -10 1/2 INDIANAPOLIS
This could be just a terrible year for the Colts. I'm talking about zero wins. I think the Steelers will force Collins into more turnovers and dominate this game the way they did against Seattle last week.

atlanta +1 1/2 TAMPA BAY
I'm still rolling with Atlanta as my Super Bowl champion. And I think this year Tampa Bay will have some breaks go against it, as compared to last year when everything went its way. But I still wouldn't want the ball in Josh Freeman's hands at the end of a game.

NEW ORLEANS -4 houston
The Texans are very overrated. Let's see them keep up with the Saints this week.

CAROLINA -3 jacksonville
Cam Newton has to come back to earth doesn't he? And everyone wants to pick against the Jaguars because they have a rookie quarterback, but Gabbert has to be better than Josh McCown right?

BEST BET
detroit -3 MINNESOTA
I always get sucked in by these road favorites giving 3 or 3 1/2 points. They always seem to win by that field goal margin. I guarantee either Detroit or Carolina wins by exactly 3. But I really think Donovan McNabb sucks and Detroit's pass rush is just going to be too much for him.

Last week: 4-1 (5 points)
Season: 6-4 (6 point)
Best Bets: 1-0 (1-1)
Home Favorites: 2-0 (2-1)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (0-0)
Road Favorites: 0-1 (1-2)
Road Underdogs: 2-0 (3-1)

A Necessary Evil

Syracuse University will become a full-fledged member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in June 2014.
This means leaving behind the Big East Conference of which Syracuse was a founding member back in 1979.
It saddens me deeply to think about the tradition and rivalries we will lose. I will miss playing Georgetown and St. John's and I will certainly miss the Big East Tournament being in Madison Square Garden (though I am hopeful the ACC can rotate to that venue occassionally).
But being practical, the Big East conference for football was crumbling and Syracuse had to make a move instead of getting left holding the bag.
It seems almost inevitable college football will realign into 4 16-team superconferences, and joining one of those conferences is the best chance for Syracuse to restore its football program to prominence.
Also, the move give Syracuse the chance to create new rivalries with basketball powers Duke and North Carolina.
What it comes down to is Syracuse had to risk hurting the basketball program a little, instead of risking hurting the football team a lot.
50 years ago Bob Dylan implored us "you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone because times they are a-changin'" and that holds true to the current reshuffling of college sports.
Syracuse made the right decision, and in another 35 years we'll remember only what was won, not what was lost.

I Feel So Unaccomplished

For most people, if you want to check up on former classmates, you need to go to Facebook. Recently I saw two of my fellow students at the Newhouse School for Public Communications at Syracuse University, just by turning on the TV.

Clo Ewing appeared in a couple episodes of "Season 25," the Behind-the-Scenes show documenting the final season of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." She was shown greeting guests, and standing in for Oprah during rehearsals.

And on the "Real Sports" profile of Bob Uecker I saw Uecker's broadcast partner Cory Provus in the booth.

And there's also this list (which I believe I have posted before) of Syracuse graduates who are on air sportscasters in some form.

Song of the Week

"My True Story" - The Jive Five
I'm trying a new thing, I'm going to pick songs that are 50, 40, 30, 20 & 10 years old. Just to see what was popular then. It will be a fun walk down memory lane and maybe I'll do it again next year.
This one happens to be one of the best doo-wop hits of all-time.
"Her name was Sue, yeah, his name was Earl"

The NFL is Poop - Week 2

My Rookie of the Year Prediction is Looking Pretty Good Right Now
Through his first two games in the NFL Cam Newton has thrown for 854 yards. He is on pace to throw for 6,832 yards, go 0-16 and finish second in the NFL in passing (to Tom Brady). He did make some mistakes in this game. After leading the Panthers to a surprise 13-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter, the Packers outscored them 30-3 until a garbage touchdown at the end broke the spread. Newton threw three interceptions over that span. The kid knows a lot, but he still has a lot to learn.



Like 2007 All Over Again
The New England Patriots once again look dominant and Tom Brady is rolling up the passing yards and touchdowns at a record pace. A pace that would give him 7,520 and 56 TDs if he keeps it up. When you watch the Patriots you notice how great Tom Brady is, but you also can't help but see how great his protection is. Yes, he gets hit, and even sacked, but on most passing plays he just has so much time to throw.

Just One Play Away
The great comeback story of Michael Vick was temporarily derailed, and it cost the Eagles the game against the Falcons. Vick suffered a concussion when he was tackled into his own teammate. He left the game and never returned. Obviously a Vick injury would kill the Eagles "Dream Team" status. But I also think they need Vick to play the way he did last season, not as he did in Atlanta. Through 2 games (small sample) his completion percentage is down big, a hallmark of his Falcon days when he dropped back and waited for an opportunity to run.



Not a Good Omen
The Kansas City Chiefs have been outscored 89-10 so far this season. I don't really need to go on, there's nothing else to say.

A Brief Rant About the Redskins
The Redskins are 2-0 and in sole possession of first place in the NFC East. I am happy but I am not thriled. The Redskins failed to capitalize on many opportunties (a red zone INT and a blocked FG really hurt) and almost lost this game. Hopefully this was Rex Grossman's stinker and he can turn in a good performance next week in Dallas on Monday Night Football.

Game of the Week
Buffalo Bills 38 Oakland Raiders 35
Break up the Bills. A stirring comeback from an 18-point deficit capped by a touchdown with 14 seconds left. But how long can Ryan Fitzpatrick (109.6 rating) and Fred Jackson (229 rushing yards, 1st in NFL) keep this up? The schedule gets a lot tougher this week with New England at home, but the Bill schedule is littered with teams destined to be mediocre, the Bills will have a chance to prove they really are this good.

Game of Next Week
Atlanta at Tampa Bay
I choose this one because I already mentioned New England at Buffalo, and honestly I don't expect that one to be much of a contest. I really liked the AFC South coming into this season, thinking the Falcons and Saints would be battling for the division lead all year with Tampa Bay as a wild card possibility. So far all those teams are 1-1 after losing to tough NFC foes. The loser of this one falls in arrears in the division and conference race.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
New England Patriots 34 Detroit Lions 10
These two teams played in the preseason and Detroit dominated. I don't see that happening again. But the Lions do have the pass rush to potentially give the Patriots fits, but not the secondary. I wanted to give the Bills another nod here because I think once I go New England I never go back, but the Bills barely eked out a victory over the Raiders.

Mayweather's Legacy Disgraced, Merchant's Legacy Cemented

By now everyone knows the details of Saturday's big fight but let me explain for posterity and because these youtube videos will surely be taken down soon.
Floyd Mayweather was completely dominating Victor Ortiz for four rounds. Ortiz's only offense was rubbing his head on Mayweather until he blatantly head-butted him at the end of the 4th round. The fight was halted and a point was deducted.



After the fight resumed, Ortiz tried to apologize and an angry and frustrated Mayweather clearly didn't accept the apology. He hit a defenseless Ortiz with a combination that knocked him out and ended the fight.

Here's my take:
1) Ortiz was wrong for his dirty headbutts
2) Mayweather was wrong for taking advantage of Ortiz's seemingly sincere apology
3) Joe Cortese was the most culpable. He clearly did call the fighters back and restart the fight. But then he turned away. He did not see the knock-out punches. If Mayweather had kicked Ortiz in the stones, or head-butted him in retaliation, Cortese had no way of knowing.
4) Protect yourself at all times is technically correct, but it excuses Mayweather for hitting a fighter he knew wasn't protecting himself. It was within the rules but very unsporting of him. But it was nothing compared to what he did after the fight.



Larry Merchant is known for being tough on fighters, especially brash, arrogant ones. Many people say Merchant is racist, I don't agree, but the perception is out there. Regardless, Mayweather is getting paid millions of dollars, part of that is to answer Merchant's questions respectfully. Flipping out on a mostly-respected elder statesman of boxing just shows how little class Mayweather has.
But Larry's comeback "I wish I was 50 years younger and I'd kick your ass" was classic and guarantees he will forever be remembered as a tough in-ring, post-fight interview.



Bottom line: until Mayweather fights Pacquiao, many boxing fans, including myself, will have no respect for him, and will not consider him an all-time great.

Weekly Picks

Tough week with the Falcons laying and egg and losing a third game on a push. But it's time to bounce back. I see a lot of overreactions to what happened during Week 1 and I am hoping to exploit that this week.

green bay -10 CAROLINA
Hard to say a team giving up 10 points at home is an overreaction. And I like Cam Newton. But I don't seem him having a game like that again. And if he doesn't throw for 400, Aaron Rodgers will.

oakland +4 BUFFALO
Didn't the Bills suck just a week ago. One game, I don't care how convincing, doesn't make up for a lack of talent. They can even win this game by a field goal and I still get the spread.

NEW ENGLAND -7 san diego
If the Patriots are going to have one of those seasons where they embarrass 8 to 10 teams in a row, I don't want to sit on the sidelines and miss it. Plus, the Chargers are perennially disappointing in September (and then again in January.)

NEW YORK JETS -9 jacksonville
I think the Jets defense will really be dominant. Rex rips them and they respond.

BEST BET
tampa bay +2 1/2 MINNESOTA
I almost never pick underdogs as best bets. But I just don't get this spread. Did anyone watch Donovan McNabb last week? Or last season? He is not bouncing back. He is done. Sure he might even throw for 100 yards this week. But he stinks. The Bucs only looked bad last week because they played the Lions, who are better.

Last week: 2-3 (1 point)
Season: 2-3 (1 point)
Best Bets: 0-1 (0-1)
Home Favorites: 0-1 (0-1)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (0-0)
Road Favorites: 1-1 (1-1)
Road Underdogs: 1-1 (1-1)