Week 11 - Playoff Push

Manwich Matchup
San Diego @ Jacksonville – What an intriguing game! The Chargers looked bad beating the Colts, but they still are a decent team. I really like the Jags though, because they seem to find ways to win based on defense and rushing the ball. Old school!
Pick: Jacksonville

Upset of the Week
Oakland @ Minnesota – How amazing is this? Culpepper somehow got named as the starter! It’s the second time this season he’s playing one of his former teams. Against Miami, Culpepper went for 5 TDs. In this game, there may not be as much revenge on the line, but Culpepper still will want to prove something. 4 TDs maybe?
Pick: Oakland

Tennessee @ Denver – Not sure what to make of this game, because both teams have played well and awful throughout times this season.
Pick: Denver

KC @ Indy- The Colts can handle the Chiefs still… I hope.
Pick: Indy

Cleveland @ Baltimore – I can’t remember the last time the Browns were road favorites against Baltimore. That’s probably because it’s never happened!
Pick: Cleveland

Pittsburgh @ Jets – Even though almost every game has slipped away from the Jets, I really don’t feel that bad for Coach Mangina… last year, every game went the right way and the Jets became a 10-6 playoff team. I’m hoping the Browns can pull that off this year.
Pick: Pitt

Tampa @ Atlanta – I saw some headline and Joey Harrington was really “shocked” and “surprised” that he’s being benched, despite a 2-game winning streak. I think Joey just needs to embrace the fact that he gets no respect. Be like Rodney Dangerfield – have fun with it at least! Don’t act like you’ve never been insulted before… I mean, this is his 3rd straight year with a different team.
Pick: Tampa

Arizona @ Cincy- I can’t believe the Bengals put the smack-down last week. Then again, the Bengals now have 3 wins… and 2 are against the Ravens. I’m not sure what this all means. But I do know one thing… nobody beat the Wiz in Ohio! (mainly because he hasn’t even coached in Ohio)
Pick: Arizona

Miami @ Philly – So now Miami turns to their rookie QB… and next week we may see a Ricky Williams sighting! Things are getting pretty interesting down in Miami. Next thing you know, the Moustache, Dave Wannstedt, will do a “guest coaching” job in Week 15. If they go winless until the last 4 weeks of the season, the Dolphins should just line-up some “guest” coaches from to give some rousing pep talks. They could also invite Chuck Norris one week, and just make it a moustache-theme.

Pick: Philly

New England @ Buffalo- I’m really scared the Pats are going to win every game during the regular season. It is scary unless you are from Boston.
Pick: New England

Washington @ Dallas – Rivalry game, so anything’s possible. I just don’t see the upset happening.
Pick: Dallas

New Orleans @ Houston – It’s Mario Williams chance to hit Reggie Bush! Or… it’s Bush’s chance to show Houston what they missed out on!
Pick: New Orleans

CAR @ Green Bay – CAR is a complete disaster this season.
Pick: Green Bay

Giants @ Detroit – Really interesting game… both are coming off disappointing losses. Both should still make the playoffs in the NFC because the NFC is weak like a third-world country…
Pick: Detroit

St. Louis @ San Fran – My heart went out to the 49ers fans during part of that atrocious Monday night shutout loss… I can’t believe I had the 49ers as my surprise team before the season started. They are missing so many things and Alex Smith seems to be getting worse each week he’s healthy enough to play.
Pick: St. Louis

Chicago @ Seattle – Oohh.. the Bears are starting Rex Grossman…
Pick: Seattle

Last Week: 6-8
Season: 90-54
Manwich: 7-3 (Taking the Giants was not wise.)
Upset of the Week: 6-4 (The Jaguars came through again for me!).

Week 10 – Revenge

Manwich Matchup of the Week
Dallas @ NY Giants- This could be a great game. The real question remains- if the Giants win, will MJ jump on the team’s bandwagon? Rumor has it that if MJ does jump on the bandwagon, Eli promises to do extra homework each week.
Pick: NY Giants in revenge

Upset of the Week-
Jack-O @ Tennessee- AFC wildcard berth is possibly on the line! Garrad may actually play this week, plus, I like the revenge factor in this game, since Tennsee won a close 13-10 game earlier in the season.
Pick: Jack-O in revenge

Denver @ KC – I really don’t like either of these teams that much… but the KC defense has been better of late than the dysfunctional Denver D.
Pick: KC

Buff @ Miami- Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!
Pick: Buff

Cleve @ Pitt – The Browns have one of the easiest schedules the rest of the way – this is their only game against a team over .500 ! If the Browns pull a miracle and win this game, I will be expecting a Browns playoff berth.
Pick: Pittsburgh

St. Louis @ New Orleans- The Saints are back to their 2006 form.
Pick: New Orleans

Atl @ CAR – The Falcons should be satisfied with their win from last week.
Pick: CAR

Philly @ Wash- I think this is a tough game to pick, mainly because it involves the Eagles. The Redskins actually have beaten all the teams they were supposed to beat, and lost to the ones they were supposed to lose to (Giants, Packers, Patriots).
Pick: Washington

Minny @ GB – Green Bay has already escaped without losing 3 times this season. Again, it is hard to choose Minnesota, even w/ Adrian Peterson, because they need some kind of passing game. Right?
Pick: Green Bay

Cincy @ Baltimore- Hooray bad game. I guess the Ravens get the edge, who still haven’t lost at home yet.
Pick: Baltimore in revenge

Chicago @ Oakland- The Bears can turn it around, for at least one game.
Pick: Chicago

Detroit @ Arizona- I can’t believe the Lions can be 7-2! 7-2 !
Pick: Detroit

Indy @ San Diego- Another great game. Philip Rivers probably can’t get on the right track against the Colts either. It’s sad what’s happened to the Chargers this year, though I still think there’s time for the Chargers to rally and win their division.
Pick: Indy

San Fran @ Seattle- Yawn.
Pick: Seattle

Last Week: 12-2 (seriously, I thought I double-counted)
Season: 84-46
Manwich: 7-2 (The Colts came close to taking down the Pats, but not close enough.)
Upset of the Week: 5-4 (The Packers came back and took down the Chiefs).

2007 NBA Playoffs Preview – No Easy Way Out

Just moments ago, the NBA seeding was finalized… that means its time for one of my favorite 60-day spans of the year – the NBA Playoffs! Note: I may be one of the only people in America who enjoys all of the NBA Playoffs. Remember, I’m also in favor of baseball ditching the last 40 games of the season and just having a double-elimination tournament.

Anyways, let’s breakdown the matchups!

Eastern Conference
1-Detroit vs. 8-Orlando – Yes!!!! This is the matchup I’ve been dreaming of for years. Finally, we get to see the “Revenge of Darko”! I’m EXPECTING Darko to throw down at some point with Rasheed Wallace. It has to happen. Plus, Darko has every right to talk as much trash as possible during the brief 20-25 minutes he plays each night.
Pick: Detroit

4-Miami vs. 5-Chicago – This is clearly the marquee matchup of the 1st round. Everyone thinks Miami is going to win, but you know what? The Bulls are dangerous. The problem all season for the Bulls has been figuring out a rotation. Hell, the Bulls couldn’t even figure it out against the Nets on this last night of the season. Even though logic would dictates that the Heat should win (hell – even their dance team won the playoffs this season - http://www.nba.com/features/dance_bracket_2007.html AND last season http://www.nba.com/features/dance_bracket_2006.html ), I don’t believe Wade is healthy, and I believe these Bulls will get their first playoff series victory since the Jordan era.
Pick: Chicago

3-Toronto vs. 6-New Jersey – The Raptors are dangerous. Even with Garbajosa going down for the season, the Raptors still have an underrated Chris Bosh, and the speedy PG TJ Ford. This is a terrible matchup for Jason Kidd, because everyone knows he can’t guard quick players. Maybe the Nets will play a zone for the whole series. The only way the Nets win is if they continue to get surprise production from their 2nd-half surprises, Boston Nachbar and Mikki Moore (who’s boxing his way out to a big free agent deal this summer).
****Bonus: Vince Carter will be getting booed at every moment in Toronto!
Pick: Toronto

2-Cleveland vs. 7-Washington – I usually try to remain unbiased, but it’s not often that every outcome goes exactly the way you want it. The Cavs began the night faced with the prospect of taking on the Miami Heat in the first round (4-5 matchup) and then having to take on the Pistons. The Cavs needed three outcomes Wednesday night (Cleveland winning, Chicago losing, Washington winning) to play the Washington Wizards (who are missing Gilbert Arenas AND Caron Butler), and every game happened the way Lebron and all of Cleveland dreamed it would! I will be eating MJ’s Frosted Rage Flakes for 1 week straight if the Cavs lose this series.
Pick: Cleveland

Western Conference
1-Dallas vs. 8-Golden State – last time Golden State was in the playoffs, in the 1993-1994 season, they also were eliminated by the Suns in the 1st round. That Golden State team was very fun – it was coached by Don Nelson and they started Chris Webber, Latrell Spreeewell, Chris Mullin, AND Avery Johnson! I clearly should have taken that bet that one of the players would soon coach against Don Nelson and dominate. Anyways, this 2007 Golden State team would get killed by that 1995 Golden State team. Plus, Avery Johnson knows ALL of Don Nelson’s weaknesses after coaching under him for multiple years in Dallas. WARNING: Golden State actually went 3-0 versus Dallas this season, BUT, it's very misleading, because one victory was the 3rd game of the season, and a second took place on Tuesday when Dallas was resting everyone. Pick: Dallas

4-Utah vs. 5-Houston – Houston actually has the homecourt advantage in this series. The edge really has to go to Houston, because Utah has been terrible in the last half of the season. It should be fun to see former Illini alumni Deron Williams and Luther Head go against each other. Ultimately, Yao and McGrady and the Rockets have been playing great, and that’s who I have to go with.
Pick: Houston

3-San Antonio vs. 6-Denver – They played in the 2005 playoffs, and there was a lot of bad blood. Kenyon Martin may be gone, but the rest of the team is pretty much still there. Denver actually would have had a better chance just sprinting the whole game against Phoenix.
Pick: San Antonio

2- Phoenix vs. 7-Lakers – This could get interesting. The Lakers have a great coach, and definitely have some weapons. Hell, according to this video, Kobe is actually Neo from the Matrix and doesn’t even need to breathe oxygen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmLFP8o8S5Y Still not clear why the Lakers struggled so much this year, which really makes me believe Kobe is a mortal, so you have to believe in the Suns here. It is also possible that Raja Bell and Kobe will get into fisticuffs.
Pick: Phoenix

Of course, I can’t stop at the 1st round. My crystal ball has been very distorted of late, but I’ve got to keep predicting.

2nd round
1-Detroit over 5-Chicago – After a brutal 7-game series, the Bulls then get to take on the Pistons. Ben Wallace will be getting booed every time he touches the ball! Or… we may find out that his signing with Chicago was really just a farce and that really Ben Wallace was wearing a Pistons shirt underneath his Bulls jersey the whole time! Anyways, it was only 19 years ago, in 1988, when a young Bulls team took on an experienced Pistons team for the first time… and the Bulls lost in 5 games! I still don’t think Scott Skiles has figured out how to maximize his team yet, and even though the Pistons are coached by the basketball equivalent of Marty Schottenheimer, I think the Pistons will find a way to win this one.

2-Cleveland over 3-Toronto – As I’m writing this, I did a triple take at the scores from earlier in the night. The Raptors were resting all of their players, and they let Luke Jackson, former 1st round pick of the Cavs, start the game. Luke responded by hitting 30 points on 80% FG shooting! Luke may be ready to get revenge on the Cavs, but let’s be honest here – he really doesn’t play in normal game situations. Anyway, this should be a VERY entertaining series. The Cavs won’t have anyone to stop Bosh, and the Raptors certainly can’t stop Lebron. In the end, Lebron will find a way to win because the referees are on his side.

1-Dallas over 4-Houston – The Western Conference is going to have some sensational games! If any team can negate the Yao factor, it would be the Suns who are going to run the whole damn time. Plus, Steve Nash has the power of a thousand Canadians. And he knows physics so well, he can do soccer tricks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqQfYUrQ_Qg

3-San Antonio over 2-Phoenix – No one has been playing better in the 2nd half of the season than the San Antonio Spurs! The only person who could even stop Tim Duncan was that referee who ejected Duncan so that he could fight him. Now that that referee is banned from the playoffs, the path is clear for a slight upset!

Conference Finals
2-Cleveland over 1-Detroit – This is a very tough series to call. The Cavs are the most inconsistent team in the NBA. No one is ever sure when they will give 100%, or when they will just stand around and drool over the fact that they play with Lebron on their team. I just have a suspicion that Detroit will be ailing by the time they get through Orlando and Chicago, and Detroit will not be capable of surviving without a fully healthy team.

1-Dallas over 3-San Antonio – such a tossup… very torn over what to do, but I feel like Dallas is playing with a mission this year after last year’s collapse in the Finals.

NBA Finals
1-Dallas over 2-Cleveland – won’t even be close. But if the Cavs make it, it will be a great experience for Lebron and the coaching staff.

A Final 4 Where REMATCH is on Everyone’s Mind

Could it be? Odin, the powerful Norse god, will be battling Dr. Hibbert on Saturday night. Two 7-foot giants with very different skills. One is a God of War. The other? Has a contagious belly-laugh and likes to stick people with needles. Seriously though, two hyped centers with NBA-bodies matching up in college doesn’t happen often. I can’t even think of the last great matchup in college between NBA-caliber centers. Someone will have to make a suggestion in the comments.

The thing I find most interesting about the Final 4 are all of the REMATCH storylines.

1. Florida-UCLA – Florida kills UCLA in the 2006 championship game. And that was when UCLA supposedly had a better center. Its been said already in the press, and I have to repeat it here - the similarities between UNLV-Duke from the early ‘90s are stunning (UNLV crushed Duke in the finals, the next year, Duke shocked UNLV in the Final 4).

2. OSU-Georgetown – The 7th-seeded Hoyas absolutely demolished the Buckeyes in the 2nd round in 2006, when the Buckeyes were unable to grasp the concept of the backdoor cut. The roster may have been different for the Buckeyes last season, but the coach is the same, which is certainly alarming for Buckeye fans.

3. Florida-Georgetown – In the 2006 Sweet 16, the Gators squeaked out a victory in a very tight game that could have easily gone either way.

4. OSU-Florida – (back in December) – The game was even for about 28 minutes, and then OSU was down 5 and started jacking up 3s. The game became a blowout very quickly. It was different than the OSU-Tennessee game because the Buckeyes didn’t have a halftime to get themselves back together.

I’m not even bothering trying to predict the Final 4, because I have no idea, and I just want to enjoy the games for the colossal matchups that they represent. I’m also curious as to how many teams can succeed in achieving REVENGE for past defeats this weekend. In honor of all the REMATCHES, I typed “Rematch” into Youtube and I selected the first clip to include on the blog… the Final 4 will probably be a competition similar to these 4 breakdancers – and I still have no idea who wins the Final 4 or this “Rematch” involving breakdancing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_CKf6oQDEQ

Shameless Ripping Off: The Mock Draft

Since KSK shamelessly ripped off what we shamelessly ripped off from Dailykos who shamelessly ripped it off TVguide wait where was I going with this? Oh yes. Revenge. So in conclusion it has been decided we will try the BSD first ever interactive Mock Draft and shamelessly rip of KSK. See this for an example of what I'm talking about

Topic:
Which beer would you draft?

Why?
We all like beer. We know it pretty well. Oh and revenge

How will this work?
Basically this a mock draft like any other mock draft (or for that have done fantasy sports). All you have to do is leave in the comments section (or e-mail me since I know at least everyone has my e-mail address) that you want to take part in the BSD Mock draft. Afterwards Publius will shamelessly and arbitriary create a draft order. The person whose turn it is to select will type up his witty comments on which beer he would select before e-mailing it out to the next person in line (actually come to think of it you can e-mail it out to everyone just remember only the next person in line should be sending out the next e-mail. otherwise its not a mock draft its chaos and we have enough that in the Department of Justice at the moment). In the end we will have a running commentary for beer selections. Depending on the number of people that want in I'm guessing in the end we will around 15-24 selections. Publius will judge when we have reached saturation point for comedic and beer related points before posting the entire thing.

So let me know if you would like to participate and if you have better ideas of how to pull this off without being in a chat room at the same time. (since I'm in a slightly different time zone that lets say Colonel. Or I think I am. Not sure what type of mission he's on at the moment)