Super Call

Steelers 23, Cardinals 20.

Ways Cardinals can win:
Warner is perfect and the Steelers can't decide who to cover, Bolden, Fitzgerald, or Breaston.
The running game is somehow unstoppable and the Steelers defense is too tired to cover the afforementioned receivers.
Due to the after effects of 3 concussions, Big Ben thinks the Steelers are wearing red.
Hines Ward's hamstring falls off and three Steelers defensive starters can't play due to projectile vomiting.
After a mediocre first half, the Steelers' coaching staff elects to start Byron Leftwich for the second half and sticks with him after 4 interceptions.

Ways Steelers can win:
Warner is less-than-stellar and turns the ball over to the tune of 14 Steelers points.
The Cardinals decide a defensive gameplan is a waste of time, even though it's how they won the first two games.
Larry Fitzgerald is kidnapped by rabid Steelers fans, a la "Celtic Pride."
The officials are all Seahawks fans still pissed about three years ago.

Seriously it will come down to turnovers and special teams, it always has, it always will.

Bracketology-esque Rankings Week 1

Since I love crunching numbers and the college football season is over, I decided I'd develop my own college basketball rankings. The Top 25 doesn't give you a real idea if your team has a chance to make the tournament, so I expanded it to a Top 65. I know the automatic bids are determined by the conference tournaments (or standings in the case of the Ivy League) but my rankings will contain at least one team from every conference (based on conference record and noted by an asterisk). I considered 4 rankings to come up with my final numbers. The AP and ESPN Top 25s, RPI ranking, and Strength-of-Schedule. The average of those four was my number. For teams not receiving votes in the Top 25 polls, they received a rank based on their RPI. There were 41 teams receiving votes in the AP poll, so the highest RPI team not in the top 41 was rated #42 and so on. The at-large teams (not leading their conference) were picked by Top 25 rank first then highest RPI until there a few more than 34 based on RPI. There ended up being 3 teams left out this time, including Notre Dame, but that's how important these things are. Here it is, debate at will:

1. Duke*

2. Pittsburgh

3. Michigan State*

4. Louisville

5. Xavier*

6. Oklahoma*

7. North Carolina

8. Connecticut

9. Georgetown

10. Memphis*

11. Clemson

12. Syracuse

13. Texas

14. Butler*

15. Illinois

16. Wake Forest

17. West Virginia

18. Washington*

19. Tennessee

20. Baylor

21. Villinova

22. Marquette*

23. Wisconsin

24. Arizona State

25. Siena*

26. Oklahoma State

27. Florida State

28. Purdue

29. Utah*

30. Virginia Tech

31. Ohio State

32. Kansas

33. Northwestern

34. Miami (FL)

35. UCLA

36. Brigham Young

37. Minnesota

38. California

39. Missouri

40. Florida

41. Miami (OH)

42. Michigan

43. UAB

44. Gonzaga

45. Kentucky*

46. Davidson*

47. Virginia Commonwealth*

48. Northern Iowa*

49. Buffalo*

50. Utah State*

51. Saint Mary's*

52. Austin Peay*

53. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi*

54. Cornell*

55. Arkansas-Little Rock*

56. Long Beach State*

57. Jacksonville*

58. Vermont*

59. Portland State*

60. Morgan State*

61. Holy Cross*

62. Robert Morris*

63. North Dakota State*

64. Virginia Military*

65. Alabama State*

Final College Football Rankings

We've finally come to the end of the college football season. Even though the BCS isn't considering my opinion, and they played a great game on the field in which Florida proved they should be the BCS Champs, my national champ is the lone undefeated team left standing. I encourage Utah and Florida to settle it on the field ASAP, but that will never happen.

1: Utah (13-0)
2: Florida (13-1)
3: Texas (12-1)
4: Southern Cal (12-1)
5: Boise State (12-1)
6: Oklahoma (12-2)
7: Alabama (12-2)
8: Penn State (11-2)
9: Texas Christian (11-2)
10: Texas Tech (11-2)
11: Cincinnati (11-3)
12: Tulsa (11-3)
13: Oregon (10-3)
14: Ohio State (10-3)
15: Georgia (10-3)
16: Brigham Young (10-3)
17: Virginia Tech (10-4)
18: Missouri (10-4)
19: Oregon State (9-4)
20: Pittsburgh (9-4)
21: Florida State (9-4)
22: Mississippi (9-4)
23: Georgia Tech (9-4)
24: Michigan State (9-4)
25: California (9-4)
26: Oklahoma State (9-4)
27: West Virginia (9-4)
28: Iowa (9-4)
29: Nebraska (9-4)
30: Northwestern (9-4)
31: Louisiana State (8-5)
Honorable Mention (long list): Ball State (12-2), Rice (10-3), Western Michigan (9-4), East Carolina (9-5), Boston College (9-5), Maryland (8-5), Wake Forest (8-5), North Carolina (8-5), Kansas (8-5), Rutgers (8-5), Connecticut (8-5), South Florida (8-5), Navy (8-5), Houston (8-5), Central Michigan (8-5), Air Force (8-5), Arizona (8-5), Troy (8-5), Louisiana Tech (8-5), Buffalo (8-6)

For the Bowl picks I finished 19-15 and Katie was 15-19, which is about where I figured she'd be... within 4 games of me. I really believe Bob Stoops blew the National Championship with his decisions in the red zone in the second quarter... 2 possessions = 0 points.
The off-season coaching moves are always head scratchers. I'm glad Dave Christiansen left Mizzou, I hope the Wyoming fans are ready for a ton bad play calls and unnecessary game plan diversions. Gene Chizik getting hired at Auburn is like when a young supporting actor wins some awards and gets to star in a couple "easy" movies. While not entirely his fault, neither is a box office hit even if they are acceptable to the casual public for a "first time star." As the second movie's numbers drop even lower, Paramount signs him to 3-picture, multi-million dollar deal, and starts run ads for his first "action/thriller" with those fake reviews like "a tour de force" or "so-and-so keeps you on the edge of your seat." Kinda like Nick Cage's career.

Conference Champs

For those of you who didn't get it, Spencer and Heidi are "characters" on the "show" The Hills. Katie watches it semi-regularly, but can't really explain why. Most of the "characters" from it have become "celebrities" and have been appearing on talk shows and on MTV things. Spencer and Heidi have no value to this world and I feel it is a waste of time to pay any attention to them... look I just spent several minutes trying to explain something I feel is worthless.

Once again, I underestimated the Cardinals and they punished me. The way they are playing has me really thrown off. At least the Ravens haven't surprised everyone. Before I continue with my picks, I would like the record to show that I have no earthly idea who will win on Sunday. NONE. With that in mind, here is the best I can do:

Steelers over Ravens... Here's the problem with this game: it's always hard to tell whether turnovers/penalties should count against the offense or for the defense. Meaning, are turnovers and penalties that kill team's chance to win (Titans last week) the fault of those commiting them or those creating them. Penalties could easily fit into the former category, especially dumb personal fouls, but is an interception a mistake by the quarterback or a good play by the defense. Was the Ravens defense on point or were the offenses they played having bad games? It's a question that should probably never be answered. I'll say the Steelers defense is a bit better than the Dolphins and could force some mistakes, while their offense has the capability to do the things the Titans had success with last week.
Eagles over Cardinals... A similar problem with this game: The Cardinals defense has played lights out the last two weeks with great game plans. But some thing about last week's game is still sitting with me. Why did the Panthers abandon the run so early? They were ahead, they had the momentum and Jake Delhomme blew it. Worst coaching strategy ever. So again, was it the Cardinals good game plan or the mistakes made by the other team? I say McNabb is capable of staying away from mistakes and the Eagles defense will prepare a game plan to keep the Cardinals offense down.

Things I'd Like to Think You Think Are Good Thoughts

- Was Kevin Garrett's version of the Superman theme song the worst ever? Why does he refuse to look up at press conferences?
- Least creative design for a uniform sleeve patch EVER! Thanks, Mets organization, you've made me feel really great about my skills as a former graphic artist. (The sleeve patch will be worn by the Mets the season in their first year in a new stadium.)
- If the NFL had the same issues as the MLB, Kurt Warner would be on everyone's suspected steroids list. Just sayin' he keeps climbing out of the fire of his own terrible play and only gets older every week and if it were baseball, people would be questioning the integrity of his skills.
- The previous thought aside, the Cardinals are winning because of phenominal O-line play, successful defensive strategy, Larry Fitzgerald, and ridiculously bad opposing coaching.
- When both #6 seeds reach the conference title games by upsetting the #1 seeds on the road, there is something terribly wrong with the NFL postseason layout. Not as terribly wrong as the BCS (my final rankings/analysis to come next week), but wrong enough to mandate tweaking.
- Would someone please explain how Pizza Hut gets "natural" pepperoni?? "Natual" meat would be straight off the bone, right?? Isn't pepperoni processed pork?? How do food chains keep fooling us with this crap??
- Why am I doomed to cheer for inept sports teams? As a Kansas City native I am tied to the Royals and Chiefs... which meant I cheered for a 2-14 football team and spent the summer figuring out how many games the Royals needed to win to pull themselves out of the cellar for the first time in 5 years. Since KC has no basketball team, I choose to pull for the former KC franchise, the Kings, while casually endorsing the Pacers. Take a look at the most recent NBA standings. The Kings fired a coach whose most memorable previous head coaching gig was on a TV show. When my teams are this bad I often shift to secondary (non-rival) favorites to help entertain myself late in the seasons (see Celtics '08). Since their existence, I've been a casual Carolina Panthers fan... damn my luck!
- I was depressed last night when Spencer and Heidi showed up (cameo style) on one of my new favorite shows, How I Met Your Mother. Two things: Is it bad I know who Spencer and Heidi are? And, is it worse I spent any amount of time discussing their possible wedding with Katie?
- Let me get this straight... Mangini gets fired from the Jets for only 2 good seasons out of 3, Shannahan gets fired from the Broncos for 2 sub-par seasons in a row (with 2 Super Bowl titles under his belt), and Herm Edwards is still employed?!!?!?!!

Divisional Round Picks

A quickie to cover the playoff games this weekend.

Giants over Eagles... its a tough one to call. It seems that the Eagles and McNabb have turned things around and gotten really hot lately, but I'm going to stick with my preseason pick and send the Giants on. With a healthy backfield and awesome O-line play, they should run all over the Iggles.
Panthers over Cardinals... lets call last week a freak accident. Well, maybe I'll give the Cards a bit of credit for a solid game plan to stop the Falcons and get to the rookie Ryan. I don't see them making a habit out of it. The Panthers are 8-0 at home, the trend should continue.
Steelers over Chargers... don't get me wrong, Darren Sproles' performance last week was awesome. Probably the best NFL performance by a product of the Kansas high school football system (Olathe North Class of 1999, I think). I really think the Steelers defense will be well prepared for him and play much better than the Colts.
Ravens over Titans... in my one upset of the week, I think the Ravens defense will control a Titans offense that looked pretty uninterested down the stretch.

Last Week: 2-2

Basketball Predictions dabbled with an attempt at Hockey

This is well over-due and any REAL predictions that I could make would be totally skewed by early performances and results. Like three weeks ago I would have said the Celtics were a lock to repeat as NBA Champs, or North Carolina had no weaknesses. Obviously it would be ridiculous of me to make predictions at this point and then claim superiority when they come true. So, take the information I am about to provide with a grain of salt. If you made attempts to profit from my football predictions, I would not advise you not to continue that practice with basketball. While I have much more experience in playing basketball, there are many more factors that I don't have a strong grasp on (like small schools) which make it harder to predict. I am hoping to do my own rankings; possibily a Top 65 or Brackletology thing.

The NBA is an interesting league. It's not as money-based and baseball but has more of an ego issue than the NFL. It goes through cycles of dynasties and parity... you had the Bulls for 3 years, some parity with a minor Rockets run, 3 more years of the Bulls, some parity, the Lakers for 4 years, some parity with the Spurs sprinkled in, and now you have a possible Celtics dynasty. The start they got out to was unbelievable, but they've fallen back to earth. The Lakers are talented, but they haven't closed out some of the weaker teams like they should have. The Cavaliers have LeBron, but still not a complete team. There's always the Spurs, but they just get older every year. Several other teams could get hot at the right time at sneak up on us (Hornets, Hawks, Magic, Rockets, Pistons). I'll try not to pick with emotion but here we go:
Eastern Conference: Cavs over Nets, Magic over Sixers, Celtics over Heat, Hawks over Pistons. Cavs over Magic, Celtics over Hawks. Cavs over Celtics.
Western Conference: Lakers over Suns, Hornets over Blazers, Nuggets over Rockets, Jazz over Spurs. Lakers over Hornets, Jazz over Nuggets. Lakers over Jazz.
Finals: Lakers over Cavs in 6.
I hate to say it but I think Cleveland can make it there but still can't beat a Lakers team I real can't stand.

For college, my dark horse is St. Mary's. Look for Mizzou to get very close to the tournament, maybe win the NIT. My Final Four (right now) is Texas, North Carolina, Duke, and Connecticut with Texas taking down UNC for the championship.

Oh, and I'll take Ovechkin and the Captials in the NHL.

Wild Card Predictions

The regular season is over. Sorry to those who were expecting a blog last week, I was away from the internet over Christmas weekend and didn't get a chance to blog. I went 14-2 (would have been 15-1 if the Cardinals had continued to spiral downward) and finished the season 170-85-1 in second place, ahead of all the KC Star writers and 1 game behind my uncle.
As for the first round of the playoffs here we go:
Falcons over Cardinals... I just don't think the Cards are built for the post-season. Atlanta can run the ball much better which will be the difference maker.
Colts over Chargers... while the Chargers pulled off an amazing three weeks to steal the AFC West, the Colts have won like 9 straight. Hot team loses to hottest team.
Ravens over Dolphins... they proved they could stop the Wildcat before, I have no reason to believe the Ravens couldn't do it again.
Eagles over Vikings... the Vikings didn't stumble into the playoffs, but the Eagles riding bigger wins and have more stability on both sides of the ball.

As for the college games, Katie and I started VERY slowly (2-5 for her, 1-6 for me) and we've picked it up. Going into today, I'm 15-12 and she's 13-14.
The Tigers gave me a heart attack. How huge was that missed extra point? That may have been the first game that Chase handed to the other team, but the rest of the team didn't give up on him and they pulled it out in the end. Next season should be interesting. If Weatherspoon stays, he'll make 4 returning defensive starters. If Machlin stays, he'll make 6 returning offensive starters. Should be fun!