Opening Day

Baker is out.

Mauer is out.

Liriano is in.

Redmond is in.

Finally, after a long winter, Monday is opening day at the Metrodome where the Mariners come to town.  Felix Hernandez will square off against Francisco Liriano at an 8:10 start.  The Twins come in expecting to be fighting for the Central division lead all year while the Mariners are hoping not to come in last out West.  This will be the last opening day at the Metrodome before the Twins move to their new (outdoor) stadium next year so they better go out with a win!

Super Bowl XLII

Everyone correctly picked the Patriots and also failed to pick the Giants last week, but now it is Super Bowl time...

2/3

Giants @ Patriots in Glendale, AZ 617pm

Let's break it down the old-fashioned way for a change...

Quarterbacks: Brady

This one is a given. Brady can make the pass from anywhere while Eli still has failed to prove he can do anything without protection. Eli can't roll out, throw on the run or even tuck it and run. Brady also throws a must better deep ball as well.

Running Backs: Patriots

I think that the running games of both teams are pretty much equal, but the receiving ability of Kevin Faulk gives the edge to the Pats.

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends: Patroits

Sorry Plaxico, your Giants do not have the edge here. Randy Moss is clearly the best receiver here and Wes Welker is better than everyone not named Plaxico or Randy. In addition, Ben Watson is better than Shockey and clearly better than Kevin Boss.

Offensive Line: Push

Both O lines keep the QB safe for the most part and they get a decent enough push to have some sort of running game. Neither have any big stand outs either.

Offense: Patriots

On to the defensive side...

Defensive Line: Giants

The Patriots D line may be more consistent, but when you have a guy that has had 6 sacks in a game, (Osi Umenyiora) and the single-season sack record holder (Michael Strahan), your line gets the nod.

Linebackers: Patriots

Proven names like Vrabel, Seau and Bruschi win over Reggie Torbor and Chase Blackburn. Especially when I expect to see Vrabel get one of his patented 2 yard TD scores.

Corners/Safeties: Patriots

How can you not pick the HGHed Rodney Harrison over former Lion R. W. McQuarters? Thrown in Asante Samuel and Eliis Hobbs vs Kevin Dockery and Sam Madison and it is the Patriots as usual.

Defense: Patriots

And just for fun...

Special Teams: Giants

Tynes is still jumping around from the OT kick and Feagles has 20 years of experience in the punting department. Gostkowski and Hanson have a combined 9 years of experience, but do not expect special teams to be the difference in this one.

Final Score:
Patriots 31 Giants 21

Finally, the '72 Dolphins can go away and we can talk about how the Patriots went 19-0* because they cheated for no reason.

Conference Championship Weekend

Well, last week proved that Rahul knows more than he thinks. Rahul picked both upsets correctly and lead the way with a 4-0 week. I came in second with 3-1, picking the Colts mistakenly, but Riz520 failed to pick any upsets and finished third at 2-2. Let's look ahead...

1/20

SD @ NE 3

NY @ GB 630

Side Note: I really hope it snows in both games.

First up is the Chargers visiting the unbeaten Patriots. Unfortunately, you will not be seeing an upset pick here. There's no possible scenario that I see Billy Volek beating the Patriots. If Tom Brady gets injured? The Pat's D gets it done. Even if Rivers and LT do play? The Pat's D gets it done. Norv Turner has gone as far as he can. NE 38 SD 21 where Moss catches 3 Tds.

The Giants were able to get by an overrated Cowboys team, but Eli will have no where near the amount of time in the pocket this week. GB will be in the Giants backfield early and often and Brett Favre will be his usual 10 year old self throwing TDs and letting Ryan Grant run through the Giants D. There is no way Ryan Grant fumbles this week, but Favre may throw one meaningless pick. GB 27 NY 10 leaving Brett Favre to be the last hope to dethrone the Patriots.

Wild Card Recap and Next Week's Picks

After going 0-2 yesterday, the Sports Riz comes back posting 2-0 for today to break even. The home teams were also only 2-2 on the weekend, but I'll take being home over away any day of the week and twice on Sunday. One thing I noticed today were the unique similarities between Rivers and Eli. Both of them looked very good today ONLY because they had protection. They both struggled in the first half and came to life in the second half to lead their teams to victories. These QBs have strong arms and solid accuracy when given the time to throw. The problem with them is that they cannot handle the pressure of a rush, evade the defensive or throw on the run. Will they figure this out with more experience or will they always be mediocre quarterbacks? In case you forgot, they were also traded for each other during the 2004 draft after Eli refused to play for SD. Another theme of this weekend was the complete lack of running games by any of the eight teams.

back yards att
Portis 52 20
Alexander 46 15
Graham 63 18
Bradshaw 66 17
Taylor 48 16
Davenport 25 16
Tomlinson 42 21
White 69 19

Are you serious? 69 is the most yards by a back this weekend? I thought running the ball was necessary to win football games? This is obviously assuming Tom Brady is not your QB.

Let's pick next week's games.

1/12

Seahawks @ Packers 430
Jags @ Patriots 8

1/13

Chargers @ Colts 1
Giants @ Cowboys 430

In game one, I like the Pack Attack. The Pack is too good at home and Hasselback is a poor man's Brett Favre. I think Holmgren is a much better coach then McCarthy, but Favre will be too good as will the Pack's D. It's the Pack 23-14.

Will anyone pick against the Patriots the entire playoff season? As much as I hate BeliCHICK, I think a rested Patriots team behind their MVP Brady beats a beat-up Jags team coming off an emotionally draining win in Pittsburgh. I don't see this game ever being in doubt. Pats 34 Jags 17

Dwight Freeney will be in Rivers' face the entire game in Indy and LT will never get started. The Colts have been quietly winning all season in the Patriots' shadow and set-up the showdown everyone wants to see in the AFC championship. Colts 27 Chargers 13

I just can't pick all the favorites so the Giants will be the upset pick here this week. The Cowboys have looked terrible in recent weeks and really have no momentum whatsoever. The Giants will find a way to protect Eli and get to Romo. I think this will be a battle of defenses and the Giants win 20-9.

Let's Pick 'em

1/5
Redskins @ Seahawks 430
Jags @ Steelers 8

1/6
Giants @ Bucs 1
Titans @ Chargers 430

It's Wildcard weekend and the Vikings are no where to be found. Opening the weekend are the Redskins who stole the Vikings spot right out from under them and they're traveling to Seattle. The Seahawks are 7-1 at home, but they only had 1 win over a playoff team (Bucs in week 1 20-6). The Redskins have 3 wins against playoff teams (their last 3 games) and 2 of those were on the road. The Redskins should own the rush game with a solid Portis against an Alexander who hasn't rushed for 100 yards in a game since week 3. Both Gibbs and Holmgren have the playoff experience so that is not a deciding factor. U of M alum Todd Collins gets it done again and the Redskins get to play another week after a 24-14 win this week.

I have yet to hear any analyst pick the Steelers in this game. Everyone is pointing to their previous game where the Jags got it done on the ground when it counted in Pittsburgh. Now, Willie Parker will be no where to be found and all eyes are on Big Ben. Pitt is 7-1 at home...with the Jags as their only blemish. I saw the Steelers only a few times this year, but one time I saw them was on MNF vs the Ravens. That is when Big Ben threw 5 tds in the first half. The Jags have a great D line and Willie Parker would not be able to run much anyways if he could play. Big Ben will play at the top of his game and throw 3 tds (with a short rush td from Najeh) to win 28-24 and prove all of those 'analysts' wrong.

Moving on to Sunday, the Giants visit Tampa Bay. The Giants had six games against playoff teams this year, but won only 1 (1-1 vs Redskins, 0-2 vs Dallas, 0-1 vs Pats, 0-1 vs GB). Tampa bay had five games, but won 2 (L Seahawks, L Colts, W Titans, L Jags, W Redskins). I really like the Giants in this game. I completely believe that you learn a lot more from a loss than a win. Eli keeps learning week after week and just happens to have a decent brother to consult with. This will be Eli's breakout week against the number one pass defense (but is completely untested except when they were destroyed 33-14 against the other Manning) and finally quiet all of his critics with a 28-17 win.

In the last game, the Chargers have quietly gone 10-2 to close out the season with losses to only the Vikings and AP's record 296 yards and the Jags. The Chargers actually beat the Titans in OT 23-17 in Week 14 so clearly this should be close. I think this will be a game decided by who can run the ball better and I'd be shocked if it isn't LT. Vince has to wait another year because Norv will do what Marty could not and that is win a playoff game. The Chargers take this game 24-17.

Vikings Fail to Deliver Their Fans Early Christmas Present

Well, after coming back on MNF against the Bears, the Vikes dug themselves a hole too deep last night on SNF against the Redskins. The Vikes must win next week in Denver and hope that Romo takes down the Redskins next week in order to get the final playoff spot in the NFC. How is it possible for a team to be playing the best football of anyone over 4 consecutive weeks then go right back to the mediocre team they were the next 2 weeks? Is every team in the NFL actually able to beat any other team in the NFL on any given Sunday? Why must the Vikings give all their fans such false hope? It would've been much easier to lose every game left when they were 2-5, but they figured they would go on a run and become every sports "expert" favorite team to upset someone in the first round of the playoffs. But now the word is out. The Vikings can only run and stop the run. So what does everyone do? They put 8 or 9 guys in the box to stop the run, letting Tavaris throw picks all day long. And why not pass and not bother running against the Vikes D because everyone is always open when they drift into the Vikings secondary. Is this bad coaching or bad players? I still cannot get over how, down 25-14, and just recovered a fumble, looking like they would win the game, that it was destiny. And then fate stepped in, by way of a challenge flag, and the comeback was over faster than it started. I'll be rooting heavily for the Vikings and Romo next week because no matter what anyone says, just making the playoffs will always be a success.

Santana Still A Twin, Tigers Still A Favorite

What will the Twins do with Santana? If we still had Garza, I would not even consider signing Santana. We will probably lose Silva to some team that will pay him more than the $3 million a year that he is worth. That leaves us with the following rotation:

Liriano
Boof
Scottie Baker
Kevin Slowey
Matt Guerrier/Glen Perkins

This explains why the Twins wanted Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury. I absolutely love Jacoby and I think the Twins do as well, but if we could not get an immediate starter (Jon Lester) with him, we could not realistically make the deal. As for the Yankees deal, we liked Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, but we never really liked Melky Cabrera. We would use him, but if we're giving up Santana we want two people that we really like. Neither team was willing to include that other player to give them the edge. I think the Twins have such a good reputation for scouting after the AJ trade for Boof, Liriano and Nathan that opposing teams never trust the trade is fair. If I was Bill Smith, the Twins GM, I would've made sure I made a deal and the best one was for Hughes, Cabrera and two no-namers. We shall see if any trade ever happens before the season. Santana says he won't waive his full no-trade clause during the season, but we shall see.

The trade that did happen was Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Tigers for Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin and four guys no one has heard of outside Detroit. I like Cabrera and I think the Marlins made the Tigers take Willis because he's definitely at his low point. I think Willis can only get better and Cabrera is a stud. Prospects mean nothing to a team this old and I think this absolutely the right move for the Tigers. The way I was hearing things regarding Cabrera and the Angela trade talks, the Marlins appeared as though they just kept raising the price because they did not want to trade him. Apparently, the Tigers were getting this deal done the whole time and had more prospects to give and the Marlins were just dangling the Angels.

In general, I think Dave Dombroski, the Tigers' GM, is a complete moron. He signed Pudge and Mags for way too much money at too high of a risk. The only reason this was possible was because the team had nothing to lose. He deserves zero credit for either of them. Last year, Dave started making moves (trading Maroth, bringing up Maybin, giving up C Mo) with a team that had the best record in baseball. Now the team did suffer from some injuries, but the people who weren't injured, played awful the rest of the season. Now either I can blame the last season's Tigers or Todd Jones, but Jonesy is always a problem so I chose to point out Dave with Jonesy as a given. This team has always been better than the Indians and that is why they are STILL the favorite in the Central. I like the Red Sox overall with the Tigers at 2 in the AL, but only if Jim Leyland brings back the energy he had two seasons ago and not the smoker attitude he had all last season.