Anthony Stalter (under TheScoresReport) and I (under fantasytips) will be tweeting throughout Week 3. Feel free to ask us questions, call us names, whatever…
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I witnessed one of the stranger sights on Thursday night after Game 2 of the ALDS between the Yankees and Twins.
There some of the Twins were immediately after the game, hanging out at the top step of the dugout watching the Yankees congratulate themselves after their Game 2 win. It was the same scene you see when a team is officially eliminated from a playoff series, yet Minnesota hadn’t been eliminated yet. It was almost like they knew the series was already over and there was no point heading to New York for Game 3.
Well, now the series is officially over, as the Yankees beat the Twins 6-1 on Saturday night. Phil Hughes pitched seven scoreless frames while allowing just four hits and striking out six batters. Kerry Wood crapped on the party by giving up a run in the eighth, but at that point the game was pretty much in the bag for New York.
Getting back to the Twins, maybe I’m overacting a little but it seemed to me that they believed the series was over on Thursday. That’s probably not right to say that about all of their players, but after the club’s effort last night, it’s hard to argue that they weren’t out of it mentally.
Of course, it’s not like Yankee Stadium is an easy place to play and I don’t want to take anything away from Hughes’ gem. If the Twins’ heads weren’t in it, give the Yankees credit for taking advantage of the situation and not wasting any time putting Minnesota out of its misery. Now they can rest up (which is huge for an older team) and wait to see who emerges from the other ALDS series.
We are a quarter of the way through the NFL season, and there are lots of wacky things happening. The Chiefs are 3-0 and the only undefeated team. That’s a far cry from last year, when the Colts and Saints were unbeaten almost all the way to the end of the 2009 campaign. There are also some interesting candidates emerging for MVP consideration, as well as for Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year. And like last year, we’ll start to analyze them in power rankings fashion. For this week and maybe the next few, we’ll put this in one post and give three names for each category. Around the halfway point of the season, more candidates will emerge so we will separate things out. Sound good? Right. Let’s go……..
MVP Power Rankings
1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—Do we even have to spell this out? He steps in for Kevin Kolb in Week 1 and almost leads the Eagles to victory against the Packers. Then he wins against Detroit and Jacksonville before having his ribs crushed on a meaningless play vs. Washington last Sunday, knocking him out of the game early. Kolb comes back in, and the Eagles lose. Vick is averaging 200 yards passing per game, has 6 TDs and no interceptions, and is also averaging 7.2 yards per rush on 26 carries and one TD on the ground. He has a QB rating of 108.8 while Kolb’s is 71.1. Simply put, this team is dangerous with Vick, and not scaring anyone without him. That’s the very definition of MVP.
It took two games and the threat of elimination but the Rays’ offense has finally showed up to the ALDS.
Behind Carl Crawford’s 2-for-5 day, the Rays beat the Rangers 6-3 on Saturday to cut Texas’ lead in the series down to 2-1. Crawford also hit a long ball and made a great sliding catch to rob Josh Hamilton of an eighth inning hit.
Perhaps the biggest surprise from the game was that Carlos Pena actually found the stadium and showed up. He went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs scored and also walked twice. His single to right in the eighth inning tied the game at 2-2 and then his homer in the ninth gave Tampa a 6-2 cushion heading into the last half inning.
Matt Garza contributed to the win, although he wasn’t nearly as sharp as he could been. He gave up two runs on five hits over six innings while striking out four and giving up a home run to Ian Kinsler. For the longest time, it appeared as though Kinsler’s dinger would hold up and the Rangers would proceed with the sweep.
Texas will have another chance today at 1:07PM ET to finish off the Rays for good. Tommy Hunter will oppose Wade Davis, who finished the season with a 12-10 record and a 4.07 ERA for the Rays.
The Bills cost me my first perfect weekend in the NFL with their embarrassing display of football against the Jets last Sunday. But I won’t let them ruin my otherwise stellar 3-1 week.
Let’s keep the good times rolling – ah, WOO-HOO!
Packers at. Redskins, 1:00PM ET
The injuries are starting to pile up for Green Bay, who finds itself a 2.5-point favorite in Washington this Sunday. The Redskins were fortunate Michael Vick went down last week and they were able to grind out a win on the road, but that’s not to say that this is a bad football team. They played tough at home against the Cowboys and Texans to start the season and I think they get an outright win this Sunday. Brian Orakpo records at least one sack and spends most of the afternoon tormenting Aaron Rodgers.
THE PICK: REDSKINS +2.5
Vikings at. Jets, 8:30PM ET
This one scares me a little because there’s no doubt Johnny Public is sucking the teet of the Vikings after they acquired Randy Moss on Wednesday. The line opened at 4.5 and is already down to 3.5 and I fear it could be a field goal game by kickoff on Monday night. That said, I love Minnesota here, but I worry about where Brett Favre’s head is at for this one. Will it be on the Jets or will it be…actually, I’ve decided not to finish that sentence.
THE PICK: VIKINGS +3.5
Broncos at. Ravens, 1:00PM ET
The Broncos are far from a great football team and I struggle to even say that they’re good. But they continue to be an underrated play. The Ravens are coming off two straight divisional games and are now laying a touchdown at home against a non-divisional opponent. It’s only natural that Baltimore suffers a letdown this Sunday coming off its huge win over Pittsburgh last week and Denver could take advantage. The Broncos proved last week against the Titans that they can win on the road. I like the dog here.
THE PICK: BRONCOS +7
Jaguars at. Bills, 1:00PM ET
To show that I’m not afraid of the Bills, I’m going right back to the well again this week. This is a trap game of epic proportions. The Jaguars are coming off a dramatic upset of the Colts last Sunday, while the Bills forgot what time their game with the Jets started and were absolutely waxed. So why, oh why, would I take Buffalo and actually lay a point? Because Jacksonville is about to suffer the mother of all letdowns – that’s why. Why has the line gone from Bills +1 to Bills –1? Who the hell is betting on the Bills after last week? Don’t be fooled by the line – take the Bills and lay the point.
THE PICK: BILLS -1
Season Record: 6-5-1
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