Observations and Predictions... Week 12

First off let me say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Especially to my baby boy who is celebrating his first thanksgiving. He's only two and a half months old, and can't have turkey, but we're all thankful he's here.

I went 13-3 last week, special thanks to my bro-in-law for correcting my score from two weeks ago (I was 7-8 instead of 8-7). Those Steelers cost me a ton of money in my suicide pool. Bengals went down to the Raiders. Cowboys barely snuck by the Redskins. Lions and Browns played the game of the week in a high scoring shootout.

Top Performers of the week
QB-Aaron Rodgers: He's been a fantasy stud all year. His performance against the Niners was the norm for this rising star.
WR-Terrell Owens: Finally showed a pulse for Buffalo. almost 200 yards and a score.
RB-Ricky Williams: With Ronnie Brown shelved, Williams lit up the Panthers.
TE-Vernon Davis: Another name becoming a regular among top fantasy performers.
Defense-San Diego: Held the Broncos to 3 points in knocking them from first.
Special Teams-Raiders: Janikowski kick and a big turnover produced by the kickoff team won the game.

Here are the week 12 picks:
Packers big over the Lions. Cowboys big over the Raiders. The Giants in a close one over the Broncos, the only close game of the day. Falcons beat the Bucs. Buffalo pulls one out over the Dolphins. Bengals hold off the Browns. Rams shock the Seahawks. Panthers beat the Jets. Eagles keep the Skins reeling. Colts over the Texans in a shootout. Chargers over the Chiefs in another high scoring game. Niners over the Jags. Surging Titans beat the tough Cards. Vikings beat the Bears. Banged up Steelers win a close one over the Ravens. Pats give the Saints their first loss.

Fantasy picks of the week
QB-Aaron Rodgers: Nice matchup versus Deroit
WR-Reggie Wayne: Should benefit from a Houston shootout.
RB-Adrian Peterson: Always seems to play well against the Bears.
TE-Tony Gonzalez: Seems to have clicked with Ryan, pluse they face the Bucs.
Defense-Green Bay: A decimated Lions team on Thanksgiving shouldnt provide much of a battle.
Special Teams-Vikings: Longwell and Harvin have played well all season.

Fantasy picks of the week

Observations and Predictions... Week 11

Last week wasn't great. It started out poorly with the Bears losing on Thursday night and got worst as the Cowboys lost to the Packers. All in all it was a very average week, 8-7.

Top Performers of the Week
QB-Peyton Manning: He and Brady staged a shoot out Sunday night with MAnning getting the upper hand. 327 yards and 4 scores.
WR-Randy Moss: Back to the Sunday night game for the top WR of the week. Moss was brilliant versus the overmatched and young Colts secondary 179 yards and 2 scores.
RB-Chris Johnson: Ran for and caught for over 100 yards. Toss in two scores as well for a huge day.
TE-Kellen Winslow: Winslow had a second straight strong week with Freeman at the helm.
Special Teams-Bengals: Bengals special teams accounted for all the scores in this upset of the Steelers.
Defense-Ravens: pitched a shut out against the awful Browns.

I think the Panthers should be able to hold off the Dolphins. With Ronnie Brown out, does that mean more PAt White in the Wildcat? Cowboys over the Redskins in a close one. Lions beat the Browns. Packers over the Niners. Steelers (my lock of the week) over the Chiefs. Vikings destroy the Seahawks. Giants over the reeling Falcons. Saints kill the Bucs. Jags run all over Buffalo. Indy in a close one over the Ravens. Cardinals beat the Rams. Chargers upset the struggling Broncos. Bengals destroy the Raiders. Pats beat the Jets. Eagles over the Bears. Titans win their 4th in a row over the Texans.

Fantasy Picks of the Week
QB-Kurt Warner: Should light up his former squad.
WR-Marques Colston: TB secondary has struggled. Look for Brees and Colston to connect.
RB-Maurice Jones Drew: The Bills have struggled against the run. Should be a long day versus the Jags workhorse.
TE-Greg Olsen: Philly struggles with TE's, Olsen should give them fits.
Special Teams-Vikings: Longwell kicks and Harvin returns should help dominate the Seahawks.
Defense-Bengals: Should beat the Raiders silly, after their big win against the Steelers last week.

Top 20 of 2008: Rhino

On of my favorite movies of 2008 also produced one of my favorite toys. Bolt was a wonderful Disney animated film which starred the voices of Miley Cyrus and John Travolta. IT told the story of a canine actor that didn't know he wasn't a real-life superhero. When he thinks Penny is in trouble he escapes the television studio to embark on a real world adventure to rescue Penny. Along the way hijinks ensue as Bolt teams up with Mittens and Rhino.

This particular toy was a plush doll that my daughter got as a Christmas gift for my wife. Rhino proudly sits on our coffee table constantly watching the TV ala his character in the movie.

Observations and Predictions... Week 10 (sunday edition)

I was 10-3 last week. I'm already 0-1 this week (thanks Bears... or should I say thanks Jay). This will be quick no typical fantasy picks as the wife and I are going shopping before the games. On to the picks

Titans keep up their winning ways by beating the Bills. Saints huge over the hapless Rams. Dolphins in a tight one over the resurgent Bucs (I really like Josh Freeman). Vikings big over the Lions (not sure if they'll cover but it should be at least two scores). Jets over the Jags. Steelers eek out a close one over the Bengals. Broncos over Redskins. Falcons win a close over the Panthers. Raiders beat the Chiefs. My Cowboys beat the fading Packers. Cardinals (my lock of the week) over the Seahawks. Eagles fly out west and take care of the Chargers. Colts over the Pats in the man event of the week. And in the worst Monday Night Football game in recent memory, the Ravens over the Browns.

If we're back before the games start i'll give you my fantasy picks of the week and why.

Observations and Predictions... Week 10 (thursday edition)

Just wanted to go on record and pick the Bears tonight. I'll be back tonight with the rest of my picks.

Observations and Predictions... Week 9

The Cowboys kept the good times rolling. They won their third in a row, a third consecutive game without an INT for Romo, and 3 games in a row with TDs by Miles Austin. Eagles pounded the Giants. Saints stayed undefeated. I tallied a decent 9-4 last week.

Here were the top performers of the week:
QB-Brett Favre: 244 yards and 4TDs as the prodigal son went home to Lambeau last week.
WR-Reggie Wayne: 147 yards and a TD as the Colts slipped by the Niners.
RB-Chris Johnson: 228 yards and 2 scores helped the Titans grab their first victory.
TE-Dustin Keller: 76 yards and a score in this shootout with the Dolphins
Def-Bears: A sack, 2 INTs, 3 Fumble recoveries, a TD and a blocked kick made this a very dominant day for Chicago.
Special Teams-Dolphins: Ted Ginn Jr. found the endzone twice on long returns.

Atlanta is my lock of the week over the Skins. I have Chicago in a close one over the mess that is Arizona. The Bengals proving they're for real against the Ravens. Colts in a shoot out against the Texans. Pats big over Miami, Brady pays back the fins for last years wildcat debacle. Green Bay huge over Tampa Bay. Jacksonville behind a big MJD day over KC. Saints over the Panthers. Seahawks beat the Lions in close one. Giants over the Chargers. The Titans beat the Niners. Dallas wins a tough one on the road against Philly. Pittsburgh on the road beats the Broncos.

Fantasy Picks of The Week
QB-Aaron Rodgers: Has a favorable matchup against the Bucs defense.
WR-Reggie Wayne: Keeps the huge numbers going in a shootout in Houston.
RB-Maurice Jones Drew: The inviting KC defense awaits.
TE-Vernon Davis: Should have a big week against the Titans.
Def-Packers: The Tampa offense is as bad as their defense. Plus they are wearing their creamisicle unis... yuck.
Special Teams-Saints: I expect big returns in the kicking game.

World Champs

It's a joyous day here in New York today. Well, it's joyous if you're a Yankee fan. The Yanks won their 27th World Series last night beating the Phillies 7-3 to take the series 4 games to 2.

The Yanks, with the biggest payroll in the game, cashed in on last winter's spending spree of Sabathia, Burnett and Texiera by having all play critical parts of their 27th title. Sabathia was as good as advertised. A consumate big-game pitcher. He was a horse who wanted the ball every 3rd day and was perfect save for 2 missed location in a game 1 loss to the Phils. Burnett also had his great moments in game 2 followed by an awful start in game 5. Also, while Texiera struggled with the bat, he played the best defense at first since Mattingly's gold-glove days. All the big-ticket free agents had their moments... but at heart, this series will always belong to the old-guard, the core 4.

Not enough can be said of the quartet of Jeter, Posada, Rivera and Pettite. Each of them now has 5 rings. They all rose through the minors together, and besides Pettite's 3 year sabbatical to the Astros, have played their entire careers together. All at an extremely high level. All Jeter did was bat over .400 in the series. While Posada struggled with the bat he played great defense and called great games (save for Burnett's starts which Molina caught). Rivera closed out all 4 Yankee wins. Pettite won the deciding game in each post-season series and was the only starter to win 2 games in the World Series. For these four teammates it was the culmination of a nine year quest back to the title. Each was euphoric after the win.

As important as the newbies were, this series would not have been possible without the core 4. They set the tone and showed the new guys what it takes to be a TRUE Yankee. You can't just wear the pinstripes, you must earn them. These guys did that.

Tomorrow we celebrate.

Documentary Tuesday

With yesterday being the travel day for the World Series, and there being no football on, I found myself with nothing to watch on TV. I just happened to be on ESPN when their latest 30 on 30 documentary premiered, Len Bias A Kirk Fraser Film. Admittedly my knowledge of Bias is limited. I knew he was a star in the ACC (Coach K once said that the two toughest players to guard over his career at Duke were Michael Jordan and Len Bias) and a high draft pick of the World Champion Boston Celtics. As a Lakers fan the latter scared my brother, which in turn scared me. I remember my oldest brother being worried about the Celtics because of Bias inclusion on the team. A team Bias seemed to relish playing for. Then almost before it could sink in, Bias was dead from a cocaine induced overdose. I was 10 when that happened, so the social impact of it all was lost on me. Seeing this documentary last night educated me on what a phenomenal athlete Bias was. Hearing about the fateful night he overdosed from his still grieving teammates was raw, tough and emotional. You could tell that with some the guilt and hurt has never gone away. Even more tragic was the shooting death of Jay Bias, Len's younger brother who was shot and killed 4 years later. I was also very stricken with the way Len's parents dragged themselves up from the grieving and were able to help at risk children and preach on the perils of peer pressure. This documentary was a brilliant glimpse into the talented game and tragic ending of an amazing athlete gone too soon.

I then started flipping channels and ended up on HBO, which was playing By The People: The Election of Barack Obama. This was a very in depth look at the effect Barack had on people while on the campaign trail. With unprecedented access (produced by Edward Norton), we were able to see such touching moments as Obama calling his girls from the road and having very fatherly conversations with them. Or such private moments as Obama receiving word that his grandmother had just passed, then having to go onstage and give an amazing speech (where he visibly breaks down and cries). We then get to see the night of the election where America was so filled with hope and promise. On this anniversary of his election, I think its important that we sit back and think about the impact our President has had on us. This film helps illustrate that. Lets not forget Barack's message of hope and acceptance. It's definitely on display throughout this gripping documentary.

Joe Cool

If you are a G.I. Joe fan like moi, today is a monumental day. Not only do you have G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra being released today on DVD, but you have the far superior G.I. Joe Resolute.

Now I know the Joe live action film grossed over $150 million in the U.S. (and $300 million worldwide) but as I mentioned on this site when I saw the film, I was severely disappointed. The movie was a frenetic, action packed mess. It was built for the modern short attention spanned video game set. Heavy action, spandex clad women, crazy locales, little plot and no nod to the history and backstory of the Joes. In short a mess.

G.I. Joe Resolute, on the other hand, hits on just about every note. It's the Joe cartoon we always wanted to see. It's smartly written, wonderfully animated, and the Joes sound (although with a limited voice acting cast) and act just like you always wanted them to. The body counts are high, the action is heavy and for once, Cobra is badass (look at the way they destroyed Moscow and killed 10 million people). It's the best of classic Joe. You have the Duke/Scarlett/Snake Eyes love triangle (with Scarlett wrongly selecting her man). You have Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow to the death (with a proper telling of their origin, unlike the crap in the live action film). You have (simply put) the best incarnation of G.I. Joe ever.

So when you hit your local Best Buy, before reaching for The Rise of Cobra, reach for G.I. Joe Resolute. Trust me, from a lifelong Joe fan, you will be making the better choice. Yo Joe!

Damn you Steve Slaton...

So not only did I tout Steve Slaton as my fantasy pick of the week at running back, but I really needed him to finally get me some fantasy points. An early fumble and benching resulted in a robust -1 from my starting running back (and second round draft pick). Ryan Moats seemed to have no problem running behind that line and holding onto the ball (150 comined yards, 3 TDs no fumbles). While I don't think a changing of the guard is on the horizon in Houston backfield, I think a running back time-share is in the near future. All of which means, more crappy returns on an early round draft pick. Oh, the joys of fantasy football.

At least the Cowboys won (and looked good)!