Weekly Picks

I've been in this weird run lately where I've been winning or losing all my 1pm games, and then I do the opposite in the later games. Had a good start, then lost 3 in a row. Maybe having too much confidence in the Jets. Well if you think I have too much confidence in the Jets...keep reading.

NEW ENGLAND -13 1/2 washington
I hate to do this. I really do. But I think the Patriots are just pounding people and I think the Redskins are really that bad, and likely to get pounded. The only problem with doing this, is there is probably a good chance of double misery, the Redskins losing, but by less than 13 and a half.

PITTSBURGH -4 1/2 oakland
Maybe the Raiders really are as good as everyone says. But I don't think so, not yet. I think the Steelers with Roethlisberger will score enough to beat the Raiders.

miami +3 BUFFALO
Apparently all the excitement about Dan Campbell wore off thanks to one ass-whupping from the Patriots. But the Bills aren't the Patriots and the Dolphins do seem to be much improved.

SAN DIEGO -4 chicago
I know both of these teams are horrible underachievers, and even though the Chargers lost last week, they hung tough and won against-the-spread. I expect Philip Rivers to put a lot of points on the board.

BEST BET
NEW YORK JETS -7 1/2 jacksonville
Ok, so I blew it with the Jets last week. But it's possible my thesis is still correct: The Jets are a decent team with a strong running game. But they need Ryan Fitzpatrick. Once he got hurt and Geno Smith came in I knew my hopes were done for. The Jags are not a good team and Jets should pound them easily.

Last week: 2-3 (1 point)
Season: 23-17 (23 points)
Best Bets: 0-1 (4-4)
Home Favorites: 0-0 (8-5)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (1-1)
Road Favorites: 1-3 (10-10)
Road Underdogs: 1-0 (4-1)

Not Judging But...

I don't know what Modigliani was into, but it looks like this chick has an Adam's apple.

This painting, called "Paulette Jourdain", sold for $42.8m at auction.

Song of the Week

"Planes" - Jeremih featuring J. Cole
I like this song but hate J. Cole's dumb verse. Would much prefer it as a straight R&B jam./br>/br>

My Favorite Posts

Can you believe it has been ten years since I started the Poop? I'm still enjoying doing it, though with much less frequency. I've cut back on how often I post of course, but I hope I still give you reason to come back and visit at least once a week.
I don't post as much current events because by the time I get around to doing it, they're no longer current.
But it's been a great way to catalog my life experiences and pictures, and stay in touch and share thoughts with friends.
Out of nearly 7,000 posts here are some of my favorites.

My favorite soups

My favorite song

My favorite gruesome sports injury

The funniest moment of Chase's life

An important moment in Chase's life

A funny moment on home shopping networks, two moments actually

My defense of the Charlie Brown Halloween special

The post that really started it all

My favorite tag/label

The most popular post ever

And of course this one that we all look forward to every year

If I stick with this for 10 more years, there will be a post about dropping Chase off at college.
Marinate on that.

Wait Til Next Year

At the end of the year, one team wins, every other team loses. In the world of professional sports there are no moral victories or nice tries. You either accomplished the goal and won the title, or you failed in your quest.
That's one way of looking at the 2015 New York Mets.
But there's also another side to this team.
This team took us on an incredible ride from July 31st (which should be remembered as the day Wilmer hit a walkoff home run, not the day we got Cespedes) until Game 4 of the NLCS.
It's unfortunate the car ran out of gas before the journey ended, but it was still a fun journey.

The enduring memory of 2015 for most fans will be how Wilmer went from weeping to winning in the span of two days.

And I will always remember the game two days later when the Mets blasted three home runs in one inning to sweep the Nationals and take control of the division.

2015 should also be the season when the Big 3 came together and began to dominate the National League. If Harvey, deGrom and Syndergaard stay healthy and stay together, the Mets will have a powerful rotation for many years to come.

And when I look back at 2015, I want to remember the Daniel Murphy who dominated the first two rounds

Not the Daniel Murphy who helped blow the World Series

If you have any other great memories of the 2015 Mets please share them in the comments section.

Unhappy Recap: Royals 7 Mets 2

Congratulations to the Kansas City Royals, 2015 World Series Champions.

The Royals are a great team and a very deserving champion.

As good as the Royals are, the Mets played horribly in this series. Three blown leads, in the 8th or 9th inning. Errors and otherwise dumb plays in every single game, leading directly to Royals runs. And a complete and total lack of hitting by the Mets lineup.

As good as the Royals are, they are incredibly lucky. Every bloop and bleeder fell in, every bounce went their way.

As good as the Royals are, Terry Collins gifted them this series. How did he lose Game 3? He took out a pitcher who just had an easy inning (Reed) for another guy out of the pen (Clippard). He left in a pitcher after a walk (Clippard), making it tougher for Familia.

Does that sound familiar?

I do not blame Terry for letting Harvey start the 9th. But there is absolutely no way he can leave him in after that leadoff walk. He's seen how Familia has been going, why risk putting more runners on. And why take out Niese after a strong inning for Reed who has pitched in every game?

What a great game by Harvey. He deserved a better fate. After all those asshole Mets fans criticized him and wanted to trade him. The guy was a horse in the playoffs. Now we need to pray that this ill-advised workload doesn't cause injury. Even so, we should call Scott Boras, ask his highest offer, add 10 million to that and sign him up for 8 years.

Very selfish of Cespedes to ask to stay in when he could barely walk. A pinch hitter with two good legs could have gotten the Mets an extra run there. And of course stupid of Terry to leave him in.

The 2015 Mets had a great season and a thrilling run through the playoffs but somehow it all just evaporated in the World Series.

Some of it has to do with the Royals, maybe there is something about the whole layoff things (now 8 of 9 LCS sweepers have been World Series weepers), but 3 Mets had good World Series (Harvey, Syndergaard and Granderson). Some others did ok (Conforto, Lagares, Matz). Everyone else was far below their expected performance, including playoff hero Murphy who couldn't hit or field the ball.

Obviously, I'm tremendously disappointed with losing in the World Series, especially in this manner, when it could have just as easily been the Mets winning in 5 games, but I will also remember the great 2 1/2 months from August to mid-October that this team gave us.

Weekly Picks

We keep on trucking along with decent weeks and alternating best bets, but now is the time to string together a bunch of best bets in a row. We're having a decent season, but not getting enough of those crucial key picks.

minnesota -1 CHICAGO
I guess he will keep riding the Vikings until they start getting some respect from the oddsmakers.

san diego +3 1/2 BALTIMORE
I don't pick enough underdogs. The Ravens are bad. I had the Falcons but then realized they've really fallen off in the past few weeks and the ECPs are improving. Plus I like that extra half point on the spread.

green bay -3 DENVER
Aaron Rodgers is just better than Peyton Manning right now, at this stage in their careers.

seattle -4 1/2 DALLAS
The Seahawks have been losing to good teams (their 4 losses are to teams with a combined 21-3 record) and beating the bad ones. Hopefully that holds true here.

BEST BET
ny jets -3 OAKLAND
I can't believe I am doing this. In the history of this blog, I wonder how many times I have made the Jets my best bet. I would suppose it's been very few. Two main reasons behind this: 1) Once I started hearing everyone talk about how great the Raiders are, I immediately thought they hype had gone too far. 2) The Jets are a good team when Chris Ivory is carrying the football.

Last week: 3-2 (4 points)
Season: 21-14 (22 points)
Best Bets: 1-0 (4-3)
Home Favorites: 2-1 (8-5)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (1-1)
Road Favorites: 1-1 (9-7)
Road Underdogs: 0-0 (3-1)