Hey Guy! Why Do You like the Yankees!?

It surprises me how many Bostonians have become Yankees fans. “What are you crazy guy? I hate the Evil Empire.” Ah, but I’m referring to the new Evil Empire: the New England Patriots. And they’re actually evil. Why are the Yankees evil? Because they pay a lot for good players so they have a chance to win the World Series. Well, they do have the biggest payroll, but guess who’s number 2? (It rhymes with head locks). So the worst thing the Yankees ever did was pay players a lot of money. The Patriots cheat, run up the score, and are overall disrespectful to their opponents and the league in general. Bill Belichick is a great coach, and a horrible human being. So thanks Bill, and the rest of Boston’s sports franchises. Now instead of hearing your fans whine about how they never win everything I get to hear how they’re better at me in everything and slept wit my motha last night.

And now this weeks picks. Last week I think I was 9-6, and I forgot to pick the Monday night game. I also forgot that Monday Night Football was once important in my life.

Houston (+2) over Denver

I’m glad to see the NFL solved the problem that most of America can’t watch games on the NFL network...by showing games no one wants to see. I wanted to pick the Texans last week and didn’t. I’m taking them this week, which means they’ll probably lose.

Cincinnati (-8.5) over San Fran

Remember when Cincy got good, and everyone thought they would stay good? So defense is important. They’re still better than the Niners.

New Orleans (-3.5) over Arizona

NO is on a roll and Arizona’s easy schedule hasn’t helped them yet. Wave to the Saints as they pass you in the playoff race.

Tampa Bay(-13.5) over Atlanta

When has Tampa ever been favored by 13? They’ve never had an offense. But the Falcons look like a fire alarm went off at the Special Olympics.

Miami (+3) over B-more

That's right, I’m calling it. The Ravens defense might shut the Dolphins out, but there are 3 phases to the game and they’ll find a way to lose one of them. This is also a great example of how many unwatchable teams are in the league (article coming soon).

Buffalo (+5.5) over Cleveland

I don’t know how Buffalo is winning given all their injuries, but Lynch helps, and I think their defense can keep the game within reach. Cleveland has had a nice year but I don’t know if they have the heart/experience. With all the teams fighting, a playoff spot is not a lock.

Green Bay (-8.5) over St Louis

No way this game is within single digits. Green Bay is good and the Rams are not.

Pittsburgh (-3.5) over Jacksonville

Yeah the Steelers got blown out, but they played a hell of a half. I thought they were gonna win that game at halftime. They better not have a hangover because the Jaguars are no joke, but I think Tomlin has his team ready.

New England (-23.5!) over NYJ

I know everyone thinks this is going to be ugly, which usually means it’s going to be close, but I can’t think of a way the Jets leave this game feeling like men. 49-0, Brady throws for 4 and catches another one (That’s right!).

Seattle (-7.5) over Carolina

I know everyone likes the Seahawks as the new good team in the NFC, but I don’t buy it. Sure they’re the best team in a horrible division, but they’re still gonna lose to the Vikings in the wild card.

Tennessee (-3.5) over Kansas City

Damn, Kansas City is bad. Weren’t they good not too long ago? Did I imagine that?

Indianapolis (-10.5) over Oakland

The Colts healthy can beat the Patriots, and last week they looked like they won a Superbowl last year.

San Diego (-10) over Detroit

Hey Kitna, why don’t you find something else to whine about. Every time they showed him last week he looked like someone just took his Dora the Explorer tiara. I haven’t seen this much crying since the Kings ALMOST beat the Lakers. “We should have beat them, so we’re really the champs.” Guess what, you didn’t, and that’s why the Lakers have 3 rings and you have none.

Philadelphia (+10.5) over Dallas

The Boys only beat the Lions by 1. You know what’s worse than a 1 point win: a 6 point loss. That’s now 2 games the Cowboys have won that they “should have lost” and none that they lost when they should have won. That’s the difference between teams fighting for a championship and teams wondering how they missed the playoffs.

NYG (-5) over DC

2 Giant wins in December is enough for me to stop picking against them. Collins looked good last week. but the Giants have something the Bears didn’t: Tape.

Minnesota (-10) over Chicago
I remember watching a Redskins Bears game where Orton was QB against sucky Skins QB number 8. I’ve seen episodes of the View that were more exciting. Vikings offense: 21, Vikings Defense

Belichick’s Jedi Mind Tricks

The Eagles and Ravens have exploited several weaknesses in the Patriots. So now that they’re playing a good team they’re ripe for the picking, right? That’s just what they want you to think.

The Steelers come into town with all the film to show they can do anything they want against the Patriots. Feeley put up 300 yards, so Roethlisberger can do even better. McGahee went well over 100, so imagine what Parker will do. Play their receivers physical and they can’t get down the field. Moss couldn’t get anything going against two average D’s, now he’s up against the best Defense in the league. Man, the Steelers should manhandle the Patriots.

Two weeks ago I didn’t think the Patriots would go undefeated. Now I’m convinced they will. Does anyone actually believe the Eagles and Ravens can play with the Patriots, a team who has only trailed in the second half in two other games all year, to the second (Cowboys) and third (Colts) best teams in the league? This whole season has been a middle finger to the rest of the league. Oh, we need to cheat to win. Ok, we’ll just beat everybody by 30. Oh, we’re running up the score. We’ll let the other team lead the whole game and win it at the end. They’ve already run up the score this year, so is it out of the question they would let a team they knew they could beat hang around?

Forgive me if I don’t trust anything Belichick does. As great as they are, they still cheated. They release ridiculous injury reports every week so the opposition doesn’t know who’s injured (Brady has been listed as probable for the last 4 years). So now that they’re playing a legitimate team again it’s back to 4 quarters of bombs to Moss and Welker. And they even got extra motivation from some second year Steeler who somehow doesn’t know Randy Moss has been slapping safeties with his dick since this guy was playing JV. If anything, the last two Patriot games hurt the Steelers. Now they think they have a better chance than they do. To win, they will have to play their best game all season and the Patriots would have to play below average, which the Eagles, Ravens, and Smith have guaranteed won’t happen.

Final Score: 38-23, Patriots

Week 14

This is me attempting to make football picks. Here we go

Chicago (+3) at Washington

It's the Redskins, so the game will be within a score. Chicago's a better team with Peterson instead of Benson, and Washington is going to struggle with the short week, having attended Sean Taylor's funeral Monday. I'll take Chicago, and I'll also go under 39 1/2

Jacksonville (-10 1/2) vs. Carolina

10 1/2 is a lot, but I'm gonna take the Jags anyways. No reason.

Dallas (-11) at Detroit

Phillips has done a great job keeping his team focused on each game, and a lot of players remember being embarrassed last year. This one won't be closed

Buffalo (-7) vs. Miami

Buffalo has overachieved this year considering all their injuries, and Miami is as bad as their record. Add the chance of Lynch playing and you got a Buffalo victory

Phili (-3) vs. NYG

I think both these teams are worthless, but McNabb has something to prove and I don't trust the Giants in December, despite their late win over Chicago last week

Green Bay (-10 1/2) vs. Oakland

Good teams play with a chip on their shoulder after a loss, and Green Bay should be healthier than last week.

San Diego (push) at Tennessee

Norv turner has stopped getting in the way of his team's talent, and they're gathering momentum for the playoffs. I don't think the Titans have found an identity.

Cincy (-6 1/2) vs. St. Louis

Bengals. Don't really care.

Tampa Bay (-3) at Houston

I really wanted to pick Houston here, but Tampa Bay does have a lot of good things going. Their not gonna do anything in the playoffs, but they'll beat Houston by more than 3

Arizona (+7) at Seattle

Yay! I finally picked an upset. Arizona needs this game more, and I've been waiting for them to prove something all year. Seattle's a shell of the Superbowl team and have benefited from a horrible division.

Minnesota (-8 1/2) at San Francisco

Minnesota is going to make the playoffs. They might be the third best team in the NFC. They have a good defense and two good running backs. Peterson only needs 10-15 caries to change the game. San Francisco is a disappointment if you thought they would be good. This year is more proof that Norv Turner is a horrible head coach, but a damn good coordinator.

Cleveland (-3 1/2) at NYJ

Only 3 1/2? I haven't really researched any of these games, but unless there was a huge injury I didn't hear about the Browns win this game easy. The Jets are lucky they play Miami twice and the Steelers only show up when they feel like it, or they'd be chasing the perfect season.

Kansas City (+6 1/2) at Denver

Denver hasn't benefited from home field this year like they usually do. I know KC is bad, but Smith has been a nice surprise running and Bowe gives them a second threat with Gonzalez. 6 1/2 seals the deal

Indy (-9) at Baltimore

The Raven's won't be able to get jacked up after last week's loss. Plus the think the Ref's have it out for them now. They don't, but the Raven's will complain anyways.

New England (-10 1/2) vs. Pittsburgh

More on this game to come.

Ok That's it. Note to self: try to add humerus comments next time. I'm trying to get this in before the Skins game starts, so just the facts this week. Deal with it.

Ditch the Bull Crap System

This has been the most exciting season in college football I can remember. There is no clear number one, or even top two teams. I can’t wait to see what happens in the playoffs. What? No playoffs? Well that doesn’t make any sense. That’s like watching the first 50 minutes of House. I wanna know why this woman tests negative for everything yet starts bleeding from various places for no reason at all. How could anyone possibly think the BCS is the best way to decide things?

BCS Douchebag: “College football has the best regular season in sports. Every game is like a playoff game.”

Ok, tell that to Hawaii. They won all their playoff games. Lucky for them voters can tell they aren’t good enough to play the really good teams. It’s their fault, though. They didn’t play anybody. They should have followed Ohio State’s example, who scheduled out of conference powerhouses like Youngstown State and Kent State. Ohio State’s best game was this past week, when they didn’t play a game but managed to fall into the Championship game because other teams lost. And LSU lost twice. But I guess they lost to the right teams at the right time in the right way for voters to conclude they’re better than all the other teams with the same record.
Even if it is the best regular season, is that a good reason to have the worst post season. Would college basketball benefit if we got rid of the tournament? It would make the regular season a hell of lot more important. The whole point of a regular season is to prepare teams for the post season.

BCS Douchebag: “BCS is good because it gets people to talk about college football.”

Yeah, I’ve been hearing a lot about OJ lately. How’s his career going? Everyone talking about how much the BCS sucks is not good for College Football. The only reason it hasn’t ruined College football already is because the games are so good. But how long can you serve good food with horrible service before people stop coming to your restaurant?

BCS Douchebag: “A playoff would ruin the Bowl System.”

I don’t see it that way. There are four major bowl games (Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and Sugar). What if the winners of those games play each other, than those winners play in a championship? Three more games and we have an undisputed champion. Picking the teams is fairly straight forward: The champions of the six major conferences (Pac-10, Big 12, Big 10, Big East, ACC, and SEC) plus two at large teams, at least one of them coming from outside those conferences. This year we would have USC, Oklahoma, Ohio State, WVU, V-Tech, LSU, Hawaii and probably Georgia. I’d watch that. I don’t even know who would be favored out of those teams. In fact, now I’m really excited to see who would win out of those teams. Man, December would almost be as good as March, March being the best month of the year (NCAA Tournament, St. Patrick’s Day, spring break). How insane is the NCAA to think this would be bad for them?!

BCS Douchebag: “Students and fans can’t go to multiple games in the same numbers they go to one bowl game.”

Ok, douchebag, you got me there. The ACC hasn’t even been able to sell out their Championship game, although I’m not sure having it in Florida is helping the cause. But are you trying to tell me schools in a major bowl game and any game afterwards won’t bring a jacked up crowd? Win or go home. Every game could be the last. It even makes the conference championship more important. The games would all be during winter break, so students wouldn’t have to miss any class. Do you really think adding games will lose schools money?

The BCS has proven every year that it doesn’t work. Every year a new flaw screws up the Championship. A colander will never hold water, no matter how many holes you plug, and the BCS will never work. No more voting. No more split champions. Decide who is the best football team is the only way it can be done, by playing football.

Why I Mourn Sean Taylor

I am a life long Cowboys fan. I have always hated the Redskins. Next to the cowboys winning, nothing is better than watching the Redskins lose, and lose big. Hating the Redskins is one of things I love about being a Cowboys fan, just like Redskins fans love to hate the Cowboys.
Nobody personified this love-hate better than Sean Taylor. He was from the U. He spat in player’s faces. He hit late. He pulled guns on people. He was easy to hate.
I also hated him so much because he scared me. He had an inhuman combination of speed and power. He patrolled the field like a caged panther, ready to unleash on any gazelle that was dumb enough to extend for the ball. He played with that palpable energy which great defenders have, and which is not seen enough. His intensity inspired teammates and excited fans. The scariest thing was he was in the upswing of his career! At only 24 he was just realizing how great he could be. It seemed inevitable he would be a lifelong Redskin and join the great skins in the ring of honor after a Hall of Fame career. In an era when there isn’t an overabundance of reasons for Skins fans to celebrate, he was someone you could point to and say, “That’s a Washington Redskin.” He was easy to love.
I rooted against Sean Taylor. I cheered when he got beat and sulked when he made a monster hit. I hated Sean Taylor the football player, but with that hate came respect, the respect a worthy opponent demands. I gave it grudgingly, knowing deep down I hated him so much because I wished he was a Cowboy.
To be a Redskins or Cowboys fan you have to hate the other. It's mandatory But a good rivalry has two sides. The rival must be worthy of being hated. Sean Taylor was one of the reasons the Redskins were worth hating. The greatest rivalry in the NFL has lost one of its greatest forces. That is why I mourn Sean Taylor.

It Begins

The other day a friend suggested I start writing about sports. It made sense, since 50% of my life involves sports (49% is drinking and 1% is girls, though I wish it was higher). As I thought about it, I realized how great it would be to write about sports. I have opinions, which I think are right, that I will gladly share with anyone interested. So here we are. Welcome to Scott's Sports Spot. God I love alliteration.