Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 626 of 1503)

      2009 College Football Week 12 Picks & Predictions

      November 18, 2009 /

      Last week was bitter sweet as I went 4-0 straight up but just 1-3 against the spread. Keep in mind that I try to only pick top 25 games, so they’re much, much harder to predict. Like, much harder. (Or at least that’s my excuse anyway.)

      No. 8 LSU at Mississippi, 3:30PM ET
      Both of these SEC teams will be looking to finish the 2009 season strong when they square off this Saturday in Oxford. The Rebels snapped a six-game losing streak to the Tigers last season but they haven’t won at home in his series since 1998. The public seems high on Ole Miss after the Rebs hammered Tennessee last Saturday, but keep in mind that the Vols were in the midst of some turmoil after three of their players were arrested for attempted armed robbery last week. Dexter McCluster went off on Tennessee for 282 yards and four touchdowns, but he’ll have a hard time repeating that effort against a stout LSU front seven. Something tells me that Les Miles’ team is still pissed off about what happened two weeks again in Tuscaloosa and will play this week with passion. I see a small upset for the Tigers and an outright win.
      Odds: Ole Miss –4.5.
      Prediction: LSU 20, Ole Miss 17.

      No. 25 California at No. 17 Stanford, 7:30PM ET
      Stanford is playing as well as anyone in the nation right now. The Cardinal have scored 106 points combined against Oregon and USC the past two weeks and senior running back Toby Gerhart has almost been unstoppable. Without running back Jahvid Best, Cal squeaked by Arizona last week, 24-16. With Best sidelined again this Saturday, many expect Stanford to roll but don’t forget that Cal has the 19th best run defense in the nation and is capable of containing Gerhart and keeping things close. Quarterback Kevin Riley might be able to take advantage of a Stanford secondary that has been inconsistent this season, although without the threat of a running game the Bears’ offense might become too one-dimensional in the second half. I think Stanford will pull out the victory but this game will be closer than people think.
      Odds: Stanford –7.5.
      Prediction: Stanford 35, Cal 31.

      Continue reading »

      College Football

      2009 NFL Week 11 Point Spreads & Odds

      November 18, 2009 /

      Along with a complete list of point spreads for this weekend, here is a quick-hit look at some of the marquee matchups in Week 11 of the NFL.

      Colts (9-0) at Ravens (5-4), 1:00PM ET
      After earning a win Sunday night thanks in large part to Bill Belichick’s decision to go for it on 4th and 2 on his own 28-yard line, the Colts head to Baltimore to take on a Ravens team brimming with confidence after shutting out Cleveland (not like that’s hard to do) on Monday night. The Ravens’ offense hasn’t been as good over the past month as it was earlier in the season and they might have trouble moving the ball against a stout (although injury-plagued) Indy defense. Last time the Colts traveled to Baltimore was during the postseason three years ago when Indy eventually went on to win the Super Bowl. The Colts beat the Ravens 15-6 that day, but Peyton Manning was picked off twice and finished with just 170 yards and no touchdowns.

      Chargers (6-3) at Broncos (6-3), 4:15PM ET
      Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton and Knowshon Moreno weren’t around last year when Denver coughed up the AFC West title to San Diego after taking a decent lead late in the season. But that has to be on the minds of the Broncos who did play in the Denver last season. The Broncos already went into San Diego and beat the Chargers earlier this season on Monday night, but that was before the Bolts’ defense started playing better and Philip Rivers wasn’t winning games on his own. Rivers has been outstanding over the past couple of weeks and the running game finally showed a pulse in last week’s win over the Eagles. The Chargers are playing with a ton of confidence right now, while the Broncos have lost three in a row. A loss this weekend and the Denver faithful will start thinking, “Here we go ago.”

      Falcons (5-4) at Giants (5-4), 1:00PM ET
      Something has to give between these two teams; the Falcons have lost three of their last four, while the Giants have lost four in a row. Atlanta will be at a major disadvantage without running back Michael Turner (high ankle sprain), plus New York is coming off its bye so it had two weeks to prepare for this matchup. Both Matt Ryan and Eli Manning have struggled over the past month with poor decision-making, interceptions and inaccuracy. Both of these teams are desperate for a win to stay within the NFC Wild Card hunt.

      Jets (4-5) at Patriots (6-3), 4:15PM ET
      A lot has changed since Week 2 when the Jets upset the Patriots in East Rutherford: Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez isn’t playing with as much confidence as he had been and now there are cracks in Rex Ryan’s vaunted defense. Bill Belichick and the Pats are angry after giving a win away in Indianapolis last Sunday night and will certainly look to bury a New York team that was so boastful about wanting to beat the New England earlier in the season. This game could get ugly in a hurry.

      Continue reading »

      NFL

      Ronnie Brown done for the year?

      November 18, 2009 /

      ProFootballTalk.com reports that Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown could miss the remainder of the season after suffering a foot injury in Miami’s win over the Buccaneers last Sunday.

      The Dolphins have not publicly acknowledged that the team fears Brown will miss the remainder of the season.

      Per a league source, the current thinking is that Brown will not be able to play again this year. Of course, this could change based upon the advice of the specialist that Brown eventually sees and the success of rehab efforts.

      The challenge for the Dolphins will be to decide whether to carry Brown on the roster in the hopes he can return, or to send him to injured reserve and create a roster spot.

      PFT.com is hit and miss with its reporting, so take this news with a grain of salt. The site rarely (if ever) reveals its sources, so so nobody knows if its writers are talking to general managers or their imaginary friends.

      Still, it’s not unrealistic to think that Brown is out for the year given how concerned the Dolphins were about his injury following Sunday’s win. If he is done, it would be a devastating blow to a team that was already facing an uphill battle to make the playoffs with him in the lineup.

      Ricky Williams would shoulder the main running back duties for Miami in Brown’s absence. Williams has been solid this season, but how much of that is because he splits time with Brown? There’s a likely chance that Williams will start to wear down if the Dolphins can’t find a decent replacement for Brown.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Royals’ Greinke wins 2009 AL Cy Young Award

      November 17, 2009 /

      According to MLB.com, Kansas City Royals’ ace Zach Greinke was named the American League’s Cy Young Award winner on Tuesday after receiving 25 of 28 first-place votes.

      I know Mariners ace Felix Hernandez was just as a good, but Greinke deserved this achievement. He was the most dominant pitcher in the American League, posting a league-best 2.16 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. He also struck out 242 batters and finished the year with six complete games.

      Greinke also figured out a way to post a 16-8 record on a bad team that didn’t give him much run support or defensive help. Of course, the same could be said for King Felix, who had even less of an offense backing him up, but don’t forget that Greinke also had six no-decisions in which he allowed two runs or less. Two runs or less! That means had Kansas City scored just three runs in those games, he would have easily cleared the 20-win mark.

      I would love to see what the 26-year old could do on a competitor, but Royal fans have suffered enough throughout the years and deserve to watch Greinke pitch every five days.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      MLB

      Bills fire head coach Dick Jauron

      November 17, 2009 /

      According to NFL.com, the Buffalo Bills have fired head coach Dick Jauron after starting the season 3-6.

      Defensive coordinator Fewell Perry is expected to become the Bills’ interim head coach, a Bills source told NFL.com’s Vic Carucci.

      In just short of four seasons with the Bills, Jauron compiled a record of 24-33 (.421 winning percentage). The Bills failed to make the playoffs in each season under Jauron. Buffalo has not made the playoffs since 1999, the longest active streak for a non-expansion team.
      On Monday, defensive end Aaron Schobel questioned the Bills’ lack of direction with seven games remaining in their season.

      “It’s embarrassing,” said Schobel, the longest-tenured player on the Bills roster, a day after a 41-17 loss at Tennessee dropped Buffalo’s record to 3-6. “I mean, we’re technically, mathematically still in it, I guess, but it’s like what … are we doing here?”

      Speaking within earshot of several Bills officials near the entrance of the locker room, Schobel expressed his frustration, but stopped short in explaining what he thinks the franchise’s problems are by saying: “That’s about all I can say without saying what I want to say.”

      Terrell Owens posted this on his Twitter page roughly about the same time the news broke:

      Wassup everytweeter? It’s a beautiful day n the neighborhood here n good ‘ol Buffalo!

      Now, that could be a genuine statement by T.O. but then again I don’t know how many beautiful days there are in Buffalo in the middle of November. So my guess is that Owens is a fan of this news.

      Jauron did nothing to help the Bills succeed over the past couple years and it was painfully obviously that he wasn’t moving the team in the right direction. They got off to a hot start last year but fell apart shortly thereafter because opponents started to figure out ways to stop Trent Edwards (which isn’t hard) and Jauron and his coaching staff never made adjustments.

      I’m sure he’ll catch on as a coordinator or assistant somewhere next year, but he’s likely done as a head coach at the NFL level.

      The Bills are similar to the Browns in that they need a complete makeover, starting with the front office down to the players. I highly doubt Perry Fewell is the answer, which means Ralph Wilson needs to get to work on finding a permanent replacement in the offseason.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑