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      NFL Picks & Predictions: Week 4

      October 2, 2009 /

      Ravens (3-0) at Patriots (2-1), 1:00PM ET
      I still can’t get over the Falcons’ game plan (if you can call it that) to defense Tom Brady and the Patriots last week. Atlanta decided to drop seven defenders into coverage and allow Brady time to find open receivers, read The Great Gatsby cover to cover and figure out a way to help turn around the economy. Brady won’t be afforded that kind of time this week against the Ravens, who will no doubt bring extra defenders and use multiple fronts in efforts to confuse the New England QB. Baltimore isn’t going to allow the Pats to control the game on the ground either, and although the Ravens still have issues in their secondary, I like them pulling off an upset in Foxboro. For anyone who thought the Pats resolved their issues last week in a win over the Falcons, this game should prove otherwise.
      Odds: Patriots –2.
      Prediction: Ravens 31, Patriots 30.

      Titans (0-3) at Jaguars (1-2), 1:00PM ET
      The Titans are like that hot ex-girlfriend that dumped you three times but you foolishly keep going back to her hoping she’s changed. I’ve picked Tennessee to win the last two weeks and have been let down both times. Yet, here I am again, waiting to get my stomach kicked in. Jeff Fisher’s team is too good to fall to 0-4 and lose to an average Jacksonville team right? Right?! I think the Titans will play inspired this week, won’t make as many stupid mistakes as they did last Sunday against the Jets and will force David Garrard to beat them through the air by taking away Maurice Jones-Drew. If Tennessee losses this week, I promise not to pick the Titans the rest of the year. (Until she calls me at two in the morning drunk and looking for a place to stay…then I’ve got to let her in, right? Right?!)
      Odds: Jaguars –3.
      Prediction: Titans 20, Jaguars 17.

      Continue reading »

      Free Picks, NFL

      2009 NHL Preview: New York Rangers

      October 2, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the New York Rangers…

      Team Play: ISSUE – It’s all about the “G”, baby. Last season, the Rangers’ biggest challenge was finding the back of the net. With just four 20+ goal scorers, led by Markus Naslund with 24 (Nik Antropov (28) doesn’t count, as he scored 21 of his goals in a Maple Leafs’ sweater), New York was one of only two playoff teams with a negative goal differential in the regular season (Columbus being the other). In fact, the Blueshirts’ 210 goals in 08-09 tied them with the Lightning for 25th in the NHL.

      Two of the Rangers’ four “snipers” – Nikolai Zherdev and Markus Naslund – won’t be back. In an effort to not just fill those holes in the lineup, but also to increase scoring, GM Glen Sather rolled the dice over the summer. On 1 July, he signed oft-injured sharpshooter Marian Gaborik. Should Gaby’s groin/hip/whatever hold up (he has yet to play in a preseason game due to a ‘tender groin’), he should be just what the doctor ordered: Gaborik has averaged better than a point per game in each of the last four seasons. On the downside, he’s only played more than 65 games once in those four seasons.

      The day before signing Gaborik, Sather pulled the trigger on a significant trade, sending underachieving pivot Scott Gomez to Montreal for winger Christopher Higgins, a proven 20+ man. On 9 July, Slats signed another 20+ club member, Ales Kotalik. Less than a week later, the Rangers dealt centerman Lauri Korpikoski to Phoenix for speedy winger Enver Lisin, who has been one of the Blueshirts’ best skaters in September, and should join the 20+ club in 09-10. More recently, New York added veteran forward Vinny Prospal, boosting the number of proven or potential 20+ goal scorers on the roster to eight – nine if you count holdout center Brandon Dubinsky. Thus, the New York Rangers enter the 09-10 season with significantly increased firepower for new Coach John Tortorella’s up-tempo “Safe is Death” system. The economy may still be in the toilet, but things are looking up on Broadway.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      Chicago loses bid for 2016 Olympics

      October 2, 2009 /

      Chicago received a first-round knock out on Friday courtesy of the International Olympic Committee, which voted against Chicago’s bid for hosting the 2016 Olympics.

      From the Chicago Tribune:

      Rio de Janeiro and Madrid are now left seeking approval to host the 2016 Summer Games. The host city is to be announced around noon Chicago time.

      To some observers, it appeared that Chicago’s bid had been fast gathering momentum in the last week. Daley and others began to show their confidence as one piece after another fell into place. From First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey’s early commitments to travel with them to Copenhagen, to President Barack Obama’s late decision to go, to bad news trickling out about the Rio’s bid, indicators looked to be going Chicago’s way.

      But members of the International Olympic Committee are known for being unpredictable, even impulsive, when they gather to pick a host city.

      And in 2016, it won’t be Chicago.

      The 2016 Summer Games were to be Mayor Richard Daley’s legacy. Now the mayor comes home to face recession-driven budget woes and concerns about violence that plague Chicago, without the ability to change the public dialogue to Olympics talk.

      Daley and his Olympic bid team will now have to decide whether to regroup and try again for the 2020 Games. Conventional wisdom in Chicago cuts against extending the effort, partly because the bid has been so closely tied to Daley. At 67, the mayor’s political plans may not include remaining in office long enough to see through another run at the Games.

      I live in Chicago and most of the talk on sports radio leading up to today was about how the city was the favorite to win the 2016 Olympics. To be knocked out in the first round is no doubt a stunning blow to the city, as well as those who thought Chicago had a choke hold on the games.

      At the very least, people figured that Chicago would make it to the second round, especially with President Obama and Oprah (I thought it was illegal to say no to Oprah?) making the trip to Copenhagen. But apparently not.

      Oh, well.

      The Olympics

      2009 NHL Preview: New York Islanders

      October 2, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the New York Islanders…

      SUMMER SPLASH

      * While not on the ice, the Islanders made big news in the game of staying on the Island. Owner Charles Wang and the Lighthouse Project have made significant strides in the push to replace aging Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum with a new, mixed use sporting complex. For the Town of Hempstead, it means much needed development and an infusion of cash. For the Isles Faithful, it means there is still no island in the middle of Kansas City. And let’s keep it that way. The Project next address zoning issues in another important meeting with the Town on September 22nd and fans are asked to continue to lend their support and voices. Get more info at www.lighthouseli.com

      * The Islanders also did something related to improving their chances of making the playoffs this season – won the draft lottery and used the pick to snag the OGA-named, Long Island Ice-T, John Tavares. The much sought after Tavares was proud to be drafted by the Islanders (remember when some wondered if he would pull a Lindros?) and he is even more proud to help carry some of the Weight, er, weight of lifting up the franchise. Expectations are high, the pressure is on but one man does not a team make. And he wasn’t the only first round draft pick the Islanders had.

      * Defenseman Calvin de Haan was selected just 11 picks after Tavares when Garth Snow and Co. worked some magic to move up in the draft (moving twice from pick 26th to land at 12) for their second pick. While the Long Island Ice-T has garnished tons of press and blatherings during the off-season, de Haan has quietly worked on what he needs to do to make the team this coming season. And things are looking pretty good for him in camp so far. He scored his first goal against Edmonton in the Islander’s second pre-season game (de Haan’s first) and is impressing many in camp with his demeanor as well as play-making abilities. Will he make the cut at the end of camp? Stranger things have happened (see 15-year contracts…)

      * Management shocked the NHL when they brought in two more starting-caliber goalies to back up their number one starting goalie who may not be able to start this season. Rick DiPietro played five games last season before succumbing again to injury. Is he ready to start this October? Nobody knows…but Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron were also signed during the off-season so Ricky D does not have to push his recovery schedule. But secretly, Rangers fans are hoping they decide to play each goalie in each game. Each goalie would play one period. It would be like those child-actors who get cast in a TV sitcom but, because they are one of a set of twins/triplets, etc., their siblings get to work, too, alternating episodes. And then we, the viewers, are left wondering, ‘now, which goalie was that? they look so much alike…!’

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      Jim Brown calls out Michael Crabtree

      October 2, 2009 /

      In a recent interview with Sirius XM radio, former NFL legend Jim Brown had some advice for Michael Crabtree, the 49ers rookie who is holding out for a bigger contract offer.

      From the San Jose Mercury News:

      Jim Brown, who made $85,000 in the final season of his Hall of Fame career, has a message for the 49ers’ first-round draft pick:

      “Mr. Crabtree, get your butt in camp,’’ he said.

      In an interview with Sirius XM radio, Brown told host Joe Madison that Michael Crabtree’s current stance is “totally ridiculous” and said that an athlete’s career is measured by the way he plays, not the contract he signs.

      “You don’t realize that your legacy will be based upon how you perform, not how much money you made?” Brown said on the show.
      Brown visited 49ers training camp in August. Crabtree was absent because of a contract stalemate that shows no sign of a breakthrough three games into the regular-season. Reports peg the 49ers offer as a five-year deal that includes $16 million in guarantees.

      It’s painstakingly clear that Crabtree is only about the money. If he truly cared about football he would have already accepted the 49ers’ original offer (which was for fair, market value by the way) and would be contributing on the field right now.

      If it’s not killing Crabtree that his team is currently atop the NFC West standings at 2-1 and he can’t contribute in some way, then the 49ers should cut their losses and move on because the kid doesn’t have the fire to play.

      And that’s just not going to fly on a team coached by Mike Singletary.

      NFL

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