Monthly Archives: November 2011

Building Your March Resume (Part I)

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I’ve always said that college hoops is the sport with the most exciting ending and the most under-the-radar beginning.  Yet, somehow as we evaluate which teams get to participate in said exciting ending (along with where teams are seeded), we always look back to games in November and December.  They count just the same.  Here are some of this week’s “big games” that are taking place Monday through Wednesday.

Game: Xavier at Vanderbilt
Date/Time: Monday, 7pm
Betting Line: Vanderbilt by 3.5, O/U 146.5

One of my potential bandwagon teams has come upon its arguably toughest non-con road challenge (they play at Memphis on February 4).  Xavier is ranked as an Elite Eight contender.  Can they prove they’re a National Title Contender.

Vandy is missing center Festus Ezeli and has been struggling (at least according to head coach Kevin Stallings) without him.  Part of me is happy that Vandy isn’t at full strength – perhaps the part of me that wants to jump in on Xavier.  But a bigger part wishes they were to give the Muskies a true, hardcore road test.

FnB Prediction: Vandy by 5 and take the UNDER.

Click Here for the rest – including two HUGE ACC/Big Ten Challenge Games

Black Friday Quick Hitters

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This will be random, quick, and unorganized.  Lets go.

I had to get my fridge fixed this morning.  Aside from today being the day where it has held more food than any other day since last year’s Black Friday (because of leftovers), it’s also painful when the guy who comes to fix it asks which NFL teams are playing now.  Then he sees a Steelers logo in the house and starts saying how much he loved “The Iron Curtain.”  No more WWII or Soviet Union, buddy.  Leave the football talk to the real fans.

I tweeted about this last night but wanted to hit it again.  Baltimore drew San Fran last night in a home game on a short week on “stand-alone TV” (meaning there aren’t any other games on at the time – can’t say “national TV” when all NFL games are on national TV).  Pittsburgh has to go to San Fran on a Monday Night and play a road game on “stand-alone TV.”  The term “common opponent” really shouldn’t apply.  I guess if Pittsburgh had actually beaten Baltimore once this year, I’d have less to complain about.

The definition of “fanhood” – going to watch (and tailgate for) a 4-7 team instead of watching #3 at #1.  This is kind of depressing – especially when in the preseason, 8-4 would have been disappointing.  Go Knights (or whatever).  I’m going for the tailgate and the QB competition – even though it will change three more times between now and next season.

South Florida was on TV this morning.  Their uniforms are vomit-inducing.

UCONN is 2-3 in the Big East but still has a chance to “win” the conference’s BCS berth.  And you wonder, Big East, why people don’t take you seriously in football.

For the first weekend this season, I’d rather watch college than NFL.  That’s what losing three straight and having a microscopic chance at the fantasy playoffs will do for you.

Accounting for the two plates I had last night, I just polished off third’s and fourth’s of Thanksgiving food.  God bless leftovers.  Glad that fridge got fixed before they went bad – even if was the “Iron Curtain” guy who fixed it.

Enjoy the long weekend.  Help me out and root for the teams I picked HERE.

College Football Lucky Seven – 11/25, 11/26

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This year, I entered a college football pool where 20 people select games each week.  We pick 7 games Against the Spread.  Below are my seven picks.  If lines look a little off, it’s because our contest lines come out each Wednesday so they may have changed by Friday when the picks are due.

I’ve mentioned The Solid Verbal before.  Since they’ve basically been my exclusive source of college football info and humor, I’m giving this post (and these picks) a Verballer Theme.  I’ll also have an underdog and favored Lock of the Week.

LSU -12 vs Arkansas
This one goes to Dan’s thought about this season and the BCS being so screwed up that he cares more about 3-120 than 1 and 2.  LSU will validate that thought as they will exert their dominance against an Arkansas team that is getting a LOT of media love.  I think the love is more due to “they’re #3 by default and get the next chance to upset LSU” than it is because they’re an elite team.  LSU stuffs the run and lets its NFL defensive backs be ball hawks.  LSU is my Favored Lock of the Week
Saturday Morning Update: With many thanks to the Honey Badger, LSU pulled a rare feat – winning by 24 after being down 14-0. Another note: one contestant with whom I was tied heading into the week took Arkansas, making this win doubly important.

Click Here for the rest

The Ultimate Franchise Quarterback Countdown – Part IV

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Can you go wrong with any of them?

 
Part IV – The Only Three Even Sniffing Number One

At this time last year, there were probably only two candidates for this position as one was still just a spread-option QB who didn’t understand how to execute an NFL offense.  Now, there are three.  Here’s the case for each one.  In Part V, we’ll compare them against each other – round-robin style.

Click Here for the cases to be made for each of the Top Three

Fantasy: Weekly Hunches – Week 11

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Each week, millions of fantasy football players around the world scour many sites to look at rankings in order to decide which players in their lineup to start and which waiver additions would help their squad.

This weekly feature will make some bold predictions that will highlight typically average players who I believe will outscore players better than them in most weeks.  I’ll use the rankings of Rotoworld.com, ESPN.com, and the site for which I write — footballguys.com.

Some feedback was given to me that I was picking “matchups” between players who were both automatic starts so this feature wasn’t very insightful. I guess I shouldn’t cherry pick to pad my record anymore so I’ll do my best to stick to “flex” type players here.

Quarterbacks – Carson Palmer (Rotoworld #7 / ESPN #8 / Footballguys #8) over Eli Manning (#6 / #3 / #4)
If I hear one more person tell me that I can’t spell “elite” without ELI, I’m going to throw something at them (or at my TV if I hear it there).  Philly is playing for their lives, they have excellent pass defenders, and their run defense is horrible.  Combine that with the thought that the Giants could control this game, and I see a run-heavy attack.

As for Palmer, this isn’t a bad spot to be in for a guy who was on his couch a bit over a month ago.  Minnesota, meanwhile, had a bad secondary even before losing its best cornerback – Antoine Winfield – for the season last week.

Don’t be shocked when Palmer is a top-5 QB this week.

Aren't we due for an "old Eli" performance?


 
The rest of the picks are one click away