Week 14's picks went an above-average 10-6. Time for some more prognostication.
Overall Record: 129-79 Winning Pct: .620
Here are Week 15's Picks (Winners in Bold)
49ers @ Seahawks
Cowboys @ Falcons
Jets @ Vikings
Redskins @ Saints
Texans @ Patriots
Steelers @ Panthers
Buccaneers @ Bears
Browns @ Ravens
Dolphins @ Bills
Lions @ Packers
Jaguars @ Titans
Broncos @ Cardinals
Eagles @ Giants
Rams @ Raiders
Chiefs @ Chargers
Bengals @ Colts
Upset of the Week: The Jaguars are winners of their last two games, most notably a blowout win against my Colts. They have pushed their record to 8-5 and playoff talk is swirling the team. However, after the Titans beat the Jags on Sunday, Football Nation will once again be reminded that Jacksonville, at its core, is an inconsistent football team that loves to complain about the fact that they don't get any respect and/or love. By the way, I absolutely nailed last week's upset, the Saints look like they could be NFC Champs, if the Bears' Rex Grossman doesn't get his act together and play consistently decent. 7-4 in this category.
Mortal Lock of the Week: It's the Patriots at home against the Texans. I just can't foresee the Patriots play poorly two weeks in a row, and they'd have to play really bad to succumb to Houston at home. 8-4 in this category.
Tigers Update: The Tigers signed 18-year veteran relief pitcher Jose Mesa to a one year $2.5 million contract. Mesa is a righty who has 320 career saves, which ranks 13th all-time. He will most likely be used in the 6th and 7th innings so that the Tigers can get to Rodney or Zumaya in the 8th and then Jones in the 9th.
Colts Update: Things are looking a little bleak for the 10-3 Colts. The arms on my La-Z-Boy recliner took a beating last Sunday and my empty living room filled with a few choice curse words, as I watched the Colts defense more or less lie down to Jacksonville running backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. After 60 minutes and 375 rushing yards, the Colts were demolished 44-17. Ugh. Manning and the offense never really clicked despite the 313 passing yards. There were several dropped balls and as the game wore on Manning became increasingly hasty with his passes.
This week the Colts face the Bengals in a Monday Night showdown. I've got to believe the losing streak ends here. Last time the Colts lost 3 games in a row? 2002. That year the Colts were embarrassed by the Jets, 41-0, in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Hopefully, they can right the ship and maintain their paper thin edge over the Ravens for the #2 seed in the AFC. I'm actually pulling for Bengals receiver Chad Johnson to rack up some catches and yards, this would mean that the Colts run defense is actually doing their job.
11 days til Christmas and I've got some shopping to do. I don't really have any gift ideas, hopefully inspiration will find me as I roam the mall on Saturday.
Adios, fellow TV.commers.
FlyingHellfish Blog
NFL Week 14 Picks
by FlyingHellfish on Comments
I'll start today's blog by patting myself on the back. Yesterday, my wife, who by the way I consider to be an excellent cook, taught me how to make French toast. This is quite the accomplishment for a guy whose cooking skills range from using the toaster to boiling water. Seriously, that's about it. If need be, I can fry an egg. However, I can't flip over the egg without destroying it; this leaves the top of the egg mostly uncooked. So, while I do not break the yolk, thusly maximizing its dunking capabilities, I must first scrape off the runny clear stuff to get to the yolk. This sight of this usually makes my wife do one of those Ugh! reflexes in which it looks like a frog is trying to escape from her stomach. All of this means that if I want eggs my way, I must be home alone, otherwise she will insist on making my eggs for me.
Anyway, back to the French toast. It's actually much easier that I had anticipated. Simply crack open a couple of eggs into a dish that is large and deep enough to hold a piece of bread. Add an equal amount of milk then whisk until you get a yellow runny-like substance. Fire up the griddle and grab some bread. Dunk each side of the bread into your egg/milk substance and then place it on the griddle. Be sure to enjoy the satisfying sizzling sound as the bread slaps the griddle. Now from here on out just carefully check the underside of the bread periodically to see if it is done and not burnt. At this time if you would like to add cinnamon for some extra flavor go right ahead and sprinkle it on the bread. My wife demonstrated an excellent sprinkling technique to me, but when it came to my turn to sprinkle, I accidentally dumped the cinnamon, to which my wife said, "You're eating that one." When the underside is done, flip the bread over and enjoy the sizzle sound again. Now make sure you don't burn the other side of the bread and ta-da, French toast! Slap some butter and syrup (Or in my case granulated sugar. I refer to this as the crunchy sugar; powdered sugar is simply not as fun.) on that baby and man that's good eatin'!
Did anyone submit any new user icons? I resized the Flying Hellfish logo from my banner down to an 80x80 picture on Photobucket and e-mailed TV.com the link. I hope I did it right and hopefully they'll accept it. If so, I'll say goodbye to the haw-hawed face of Nelson Muntz.
After going 12-4 two weeks ago, I thought my picks were back on track. Not so. Last week's record was a dismal 8-8. A number of unforeseen upsets, including my Colts losing to the Titans on a last second 60 yard field goal, doomed my picks.
Overall Record: 119-73 Winning Pct. 620
(To see how I match up against the expert prognosticators at ESPN, click here. I thought I was having a down year until I checked out their overall records.)
Here are Week 14's Picks (Winners in Bold)
Browns @ Steelers
Falcons @ Buccaneers
Eagles @ Redskins
Giants @ Panthers
Colts @ Jaguars
Patriots @ Dolphins
Vikings @ Lions
Ravens @ Chiefs
Titans @ Texans
Raiders @ Bengals
Seahawks @ Cardinals
Packers @ 49ers
Broncos @ Chargers
Bills @ Jets
Saints @ Cowboys
Bears @ Rams
Upset of the Week: The Saints are 7.5 point road dogs this week against the Cowboys. I know last week I called for the Giants to upset Dallas, but thanks to Martin Gramatica, who decided to remember how to kick field goals, making a clutch kick at the end to beat the Giants last week, I was wrong. I still say the wheels have got to fall off of Dallas' bus, maybe this is the week. (6-4 in this category.)
Mortal Lock of the Week: I'll go with the Bengals over the punchless Raiders this week. The Raiders now have the 3rd ranked defense in the NFL, but part of that ranking is aided by the Texans ineptness with the forward pass. Last week Houston passed for -5 yards in the entire game against the Raiders. Yet, they still won. (For the box score of this game click, here.) Sorry, Oakland. (7-4 in this category.)
Colts Update: The Colts rest at 10-2 atop the AFC and barely have the #1 seed over the 10-2 Chargers, thanks only to a better conference record. After turning the ball over only 6 times in their first 8 games, the Colts have struggling in the turnover department, giving the ball away 9 times in their last 4 games. Once again, a win will clinch the AFC South division, a feat accomplished in each of the last 3 years.
Tigers Update: The Tigers have all but locked up my favorite Tiger, Brandon Inge, until 2010. An official announcement is expected to come next week that confirms the 4-year contract extension worth $24 million a year. Inge has been a Tiger for his entire career and wants to retire as a Tiger when he's all done. Inge was intially brought up from the minor leagues as a catcher in 2001, but with the signing of Pudge Rodriguez in 2004 and coupled with the fact that Brandon is extremely versatile and athletic, his transition to 3rd base has been fairly smooth. Back when I was in high school, a good buddy of mine and I used to go to countless West Michigan Whitecaps (Single A Minor League Affiliate for the Tigers.) games during the summer. I remember watching Inge catch for the Whitecaps, and thinking he'll be up in the bigs someday.
Well, that's it for me. Take it easy.
Anyway, back to the French toast. It's actually much easier that I had anticipated. Simply crack open a couple of eggs into a dish that is large and deep enough to hold a piece of bread. Add an equal amount of milk then whisk until you get a yellow runny-like substance. Fire up the griddle and grab some bread. Dunk each side of the bread into your egg/milk substance and then place it on the griddle. Be sure to enjoy the satisfying sizzling sound as the bread slaps the griddle. Now from here on out just carefully check the underside of the bread periodically to see if it is done and not burnt. At this time if you would like to add cinnamon for some extra flavor go right ahead and sprinkle it on the bread. My wife demonstrated an excellent sprinkling technique to me, but when it came to my turn to sprinkle, I accidentally dumped the cinnamon, to which my wife said, "You're eating that one." When the underside is done, flip the bread over and enjoy the sizzle sound again. Now make sure you don't burn the other side of the bread and ta-da, French toast! Slap some butter and syrup (Or in my case granulated sugar. I refer to this as the crunchy sugar; powdered sugar is simply not as fun.) on that baby and man that's good eatin'!
Did anyone submit any new user icons? I resized the Flying Hellfish logo from my banner down to an 80x80 picture on Photobucket and e-mailed TV.com the link. I hope I did it right and hopefully they'll accept it. If so, I'll say goodbye to the haw-hawed face of Nelson Muntz.
After going 12-4 two weeks ago, I thought my picks were back on track. Not so. Last week's record was a dismal 8-8. A number of unforeseen upsets, including my Colts losing to the Titans on a last second 60 yard field goal, doomed my picks.
Overall Record: 119-73 Winning Pct. 620
(To see how I match up against the expert prognosticators at ESPN, click here. I thought I was having a down year until I checked out their overall records.)
Here are Week 14's Picks (Winners in Bold)
Browns @ Steelers
Falcons @ Buccaneers
Eagles @ Redskins
Giants @ Panthers
Colts @ Jaguars
Patriots @ Dolphins
Vikings @ Lions
Ravens @ Chiefs
Titans @ Texans
Raiders @ Bengals
Seahawks @ Cardinals
Packers @ 49ers
Broncos @ Chargers
Bills @ Jets
Saints @ Cowboys
Bears @ Rams
Upset of the Week: The Saints are 7.5 point road dogs this week against the Cowboys. I know last week I called for the Giants to upset Dallas, but thanks to Martin Gramatica, who decided to remember how to kick field goals, making a clutch kick at the end to beat the Giants last week, I was wrong. I still say the wheels have got to fall off of Dallas' bus, maybe this is the week. (6-4 in this category.)
Mortal Lock of the Week: I'll go with the Bengals over the punchless Raiders this week. The Raiders now have the 3rd ranked defense in the NFL, but part of that ranking is aided by the Texans ineptness with the forward pass. Last week Houston passed for -5 yards in the entire game against the Raiders. Yet, they still won. (For the box score of this game click, here.) Sorry, Oakland. (7-4 in this category.)
Colts Update: The Colts rest at 10-2 atop the AFC and barely have the #1 seed over the 10-2 Chargers, thanks only to a better conference record. After turning the ball over only 6 times in their first 8 games, the Colts have struggling in the turnover department, giving the ball away 9 times in their last 4 games. Once again, a win will clinch the AFC South division, a feat accomplished in each of the last 3 years.
Tigers Update: The Tigers have all but locked up my favorite Tiger, Brandon Inge, until 2010. An official announcement is expected to come next week that confirms the 4-year contract extension worth $24 million a year. Inge has been a Tiger for his entire career and wants to retire as a Tiger when he's all done. Inge was intially brought up from the minor leagues as a catcher in 2001, but with the signing of Pudge Rodriguez in 2004 and coupled with the fact that Brandon is extremely versatile and athletic, his transition to 3rd base has been fairly smooth. Back when I was in high school, a good buddy of mine and I used to go to countless West Michigan Whitecaps (Single A Minor League Affiliate for the Tigers.) games during the summer. I remember watching Inge catch for the Whitecaps, and thinking he'll be up in the bigs someday.
Well, that's it for me. Take it easy.
What the...?
by FlyingHellfish on Comments
Last week I posted a bit of rant blog and had a hard time coming up with a title. So, I just made up a fake headline as an attention getter. The headline read: NASA: Moon Base Construction to be Completed by 2030. (You can scroll down a bit to read it.)
Imagine my surprise when I saw the following headline today on the front page of my local paper: NASA Plans to Have Moon Base by 2024. (Read about it here.) I laughed out loud when I saw the headline and I realized that this is either pure coincidence and irony, or I am the next Nostradamus. If this is the case maybe my next headline should be: West Michigan Man, "FlyingHellfish," Inherits Billions From Distant Relative. Either way, I found this amusing. So, I decided to pass it along.
Take it easy.
Update: Before I forget, I need to pick Thursday night's NFL game:
Browns @ Steelers
Added @ 5:30PM on 12/6
Imagine my surprise when I saw the following headline today on the front page of my local paper: NASA Plans to Have Moon Base by 2024. (Read about it here.) I laughed out loud when I saw the headline and I realized that this is either pure coincidence and irony, or I am the next Nostradamus. If this is the case maybe my next headline should be: West Michigan Man, "FlyingHellfish," Inherits Billions From Distant Relative. Either way, I found this amusing. So, I decided to pass it along.
Take it easy.
Update: Before I forget, I need to pick Thursday night's NFL game:
Browns @ Steelers
Added @ 5:30PM on 12/6
NFL Week 13 Picks
by FlyingHellfish on Comments
All right. After going 12-4 last week, hopefully my picks are back on track.
Overall Record 111-65 Winning Pct: .631
Here are Week 13's picks. (Winners in Bold)
Ravens @ Bengals
Vikings @ Bears
Chiefs @ Browns
Chargers @ Bills
Colts @ Titans
Jets @ Packers
Falcons @ Redskins
Lions @ Patriots
Cardinals @ Rams
49ers @ Saints
Texans @ Raiders
Jaguars @ Dolphins
Cowboys @ Giants
Bucs @ Steelers
Seahawks @ Broncos
Panthers @ Eagles
Upset of the Week: I'll go with the Giants over the Cowboys. Lately the Giants have been awful and they have a ton of problems in the locker room, but big-time rival Dallas is coming to town and its about time for the wheels to fall off for the red-hot QB Tony Romo. (6-3 in this category.)
Mortal Lock of the Week: If you're reading this Fish, I'm sorry. (Although I think you'll agree with the pick.) I've got to go with the Patriots who will most lkely pummel the Lions into submission in Foxboro. (6-4 in this category.)
That's it for today. I've got a busy day ahead, with going to church, putting up and decorating the Christmas tree (It's a live one), shoveling some snow and trying to squeeze in a visit to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Colts play.
Overall Record 111-65 Winning Pct: .631
Here are Week 13's picks. (Winners in Bold)
Ravens @ Bengals
Vikings @ Bears
Chiefs @ Browns
Chargers @ Bills
Colts @ Titans
Jets @ Packers
Falcons @ Redskins
Lions @ Patriots
Cardinals @ Rams
49ers @ Saints
Texans @ Raiders
Jaguars @ Dolphins
Cowboys @ Giants
Bucs @ Steelers
Seahawks @ Broncos
Panthers @ Eagles
Upset of the Week: I'll go with the Giants over the Cowboys. Lately the Giants have been awful and they have a ton of problems in the locker room, but big-time rival Dallas is coming to town and its about time for the wheels to fall off for the red-hot QB Tony Romo. (6-3 in this category.)
Mortal Lock of the Week: If you're reading this Fish, I'm sorry. (Although I think you'll agree with the pick.) I've got to go with the Patriots who will most lkely pummel the Lions into submission in Foxboro. (6-4 in this category.)
That's it for today. I've got a busy day ahead, with going to church, putting up and decorating the Christmas tree (It's a live one), shoveling some snow and trying to squeeze in a visit to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Colts play.
NASA: Moon Base Construction to be Completed by 2030.
by FlyingHellfish on Comments
This is a first. I'm writing a blog that has nothing to do with the Detroit Tigers, the Indianapolis Colts, or the NFL.
Earlier today, I planned on posting my newly calculated NFL rankings, however for some crazy reason the blogs all over TV.com went wacky and were inaccessible. Then I come back and check on my blog later and try to load up my rankings, however, something has corrupted the disk I saved the rankings on and all the work has been lost. Oh, well. I think I'll discontinue the rankings anyway, I think in the future, I might just post the top ten.
What's the deal with the Turkey emblem? At first I thought it was kind of cool and that on Monday it would disappear, but it's still there, gobbling at me. As far as emblems go, if I had my way, my profile would only have 6 of 'em: The two for Drama and Comedy, my current rank (Shark Jumper), Trusted Contributor, my contribution level (1000), and being a top 500 user. I understand the emblems and that feeling of accomplishment they give when you receive a new one, but I don't need the redundant emblems cluttering up my profile. Obviously if I'm a top 500 user I would be a top 1000 user, I don't need an emblem to remind me of the top 1000 status. Same goes for the contribution based emblems, as much as I like Honest Abe, I'm getting sick of his copper-toned right profile. Oh, well. Complaining doesn't ever really get you anywhere, but it will make you feel better.
The Nine has been cancelled, it was one of the new shows I tried out this season, but after 3 episodes I kind of gave up on it. It was a good show with decent characters and an interesting premise, but I just couldn't stay interested. Truth be told, I don't have cable or a dish and I really don't watch that much TV, I currently only have 3 shows I follow, plus Day Break which is slightly helping to fill the void that Lost has left. I'm still watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I'm glad it was picked up for the rest of the season, I enjoy just about anything Aaron Sorkin does and I enjoy the complex and seemingly endless tracking shots that flow from one fast-paced conversation to the next. (On The West Wing this technique was dubbed the "Walk and Talk.")Â I liked Sports Night and The West Wing and the movie A Few Good Men; an excellent military/courtroom drama filled with plenty of Sorkinesque dialogue.
I do have to add one NFL related item. There is a game on Thursday night and my pick:
Ravens @ Bengals
I'll post the rest of the picks later.
If you've made it this far in my blog, you have no doubt realized that my title was just an attention getter. I apologize to any space nerds that were compelled to click on my blog: You've been duped.
Well, that's it. Take it easy, fellow TV.commers.
Earlier today, I planned on posting my newly calculated NFL rankings, however for some crazy reason the blogs all over TV.com went wacky and were inaccessible. Then I come back and check on my blog later and try to load up my rankings, however, something has corrupted the disk I saved the rankings on and all the work has been lost. Oh, well. I think I'll discontinue the rankings anyway, I think in the future, I might just post the top ten.
What's the deal with the Turkey emblem? At first I thought it was kind of cool and that on Monday it would disappear, but it's still there, gobbling at me. As far as emblems go, if I had my way, my profile would only have 6 of 'em: The two for Drama and Comedy, my current rank (Shark Jumper), Trusted Contributor, my contribution level (1000), and being a top 500 user. I understand the emblems and that feeling of accomplishment they give when you receive a new one, but I don't need the redundant emblems cluttering up my profile. Obviously if I'm a top 500 user I would be a top 1000 user, I don't need an emblem to remind me of the top 1000 status. Same goes for the contribution based emblems, as much as I like Honest Abe, I'm getting sick of his copper-toned right profile. Oh, well. Complaining doesn't ever really get you anywhere, but it will make you feel better.
The Nine has been cancelled, it was one of the new shows I tried out this season, but after 3 episodes I kind of gave up on it. It was a good show with decent characters and an interesting premise, but I just couldn't stay interested. Truth be told, I don't have cable or a dish and I really don't watch that much TV, I currently only have 3 shows I follow, plus Day Break which is slightly helping to fill the void that Lost has left. I'm still watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I'm glad it was picked up for the rest of the season, I enjoy just about anything Aaron Sorkin does and I enjoy the complex and seemingly endless tracking shots that flow from one fast-paced conversation to the next. (On The West Wing this technique was dubbed the "Walk and Talk.")Â I liked Sports Night and The West Wing and the movie A Few Good Men; an excellent military/courtroom drama filled with plenty of Sorkinesque dialogue.
I do have to add one NFL related item. There is a game on Thursday night and my pick:
Ravens @ Bengals
I'll post the rest of the picks later.
If you've made it this far in my blog, you have no doubt realized that my title was just an attention getter. I apologize to any space nerds that were compelled to click on my blog: You've been duped.
Well, that's it. Take it easy, fellow TV.commers.
NFL Week 12 Picks
by FlyingHellfish on Comments
This was taken on 3/3/2006. It is a shot of one of the eastern beaches on Oahu. My wife and I signed up for a Island tour with a Native and he took us and 8 other people around the Island to various secluded places, including this beach, where we boogie-boarded for about an hour. This beach and the treeline on the reminds me of the castaways' campsite on Lost. Most of the castaways have tents and makeshift shelters on a beach and along a tree line similar to this one.
I went 9-7 again last week. I have a feeling that I'm going to have much better results this week after already going 3-0 on Thanksgiving day.
Overall Record: 99-61 Winning Pct: 619
Here are week 12's picks (Winners in Bold)
Dolphins @ Lions
Bucs @ Cowboys
Broncos @ Chiefs
Bengals @ Browns
Jaguars @ Bills
Steelers @ Ravens
Saints @ Falcons
Panthers @ Redskins
49ers @ Rams
Cardinals @ Vikings
Texans @ Jets
Raiders @ Chargers
Bears @ Patriots
Giants @ Titans
Eagles @ Colts
Packers @ Seahawks
Upset of the Week: Well last week the Lions let me down and were soundly beat by the Cardinals. That leaves me 6-2 in this category. This week's upset will be the Steelers over the Ravens. Baltimore is due for a loss and the rival Steelers are just the team to provide it.
Mortal Lock of the Week: I am now a woeful 5-4 in this category after the Titans whipped the Eagles 31-13. This week I feebly offer up the Chargers over the Raiders for my Lock.
Colts Update: After stumbling to a 21-14 loss in Dallas last Sunday, the Colts now stand at 9-1. They still control their own destiny in the AFC playoff picture as the #1 seed, with the Ravens and the Chargers a game back, at 8-2. The Colts face off against the Eagles on Sunday night in a NBC Flex scheduling backfire. NBC was no doubt planning on heavily advertising a Manning vs McNabb showdown, but Philadelphia QB Donovan McNabb is out for the season after tearing his ACL last week against the Titans. Oh well, Manning vs Garcia will have to do.
I was a good doobie and put up the Christmas lights and garland on the front of the house last night. In my neck of the woods, we have had unusually warm weather the past few days, so I took advantage of the weather yesterday and got my decorating done.
I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their holiday weekend.
NFL Week 12 Rankings
by FlyingHellfish on Comments
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope your day will be filled with some family, friends, football, food, and fun. (Alliteration at its best, folks.) I will start my day with the annual Turkey Bowl; football with a group of friends at 9:00 AM. We started playing about 5 years ago and it has become a tradition on Thanksgiving morning to beat the snot out of each other in some tackle football. Afterwards, Thanksgiving dinnner will be at my parents' house and shortly after dinner I will pass out on the couch, likely from too much turkey and sore muscles.
I'll post the rest of my picks later this week, but here are my Thanksgiving Day winners:
Dolphins @ Lions
Bucs @ Cowboys
Broncos @ Chiefs
I've been having trouble with getting the rankings to look all nice and pretty on my blog, so until I figure out how to do it, I'll just post the top ten.
---    1    Bears      9-1      433    +15
+1    2    Chargers   8-2      395    +24
-1     3    Colts       9-1      386    -16
---    4    Patriots    7-3      365    +37
---    5    Ravens    8-2      354    +31
+1    6    Cowboys  6-4      329    +17
+4    7    Jaguars    6-4      298    +25
+1    8    Broncos   7-3      296    -12
+1    9    Saints      6-4     291    -11
-4    10   Giants     6-4      280    -42
Once again, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
I'll post the rest of my picks later this week, but here are my Thanksgiving Day winners:
Dolphins @ Lions
Bucs @ Cowboys
Broncos @ Chiefs
I've been having trouble with getting the rankings to look all nice and pretty on my blog, so until I figure out how to do it, I'll just post the top ten.
---    1    Bears      9-1      433    +15
+1    2    Chargers   8-2      395    +24
-1     3    Colts       9-1      386    -16
---    4    Patriots    7-3      365    +37
---    5    Ravens    8-2      354    +31
+1    6    Cowboys  6-4      329    +17
+4    7    Jaguars    6-4      298    +25
+1    8    Broncos   7-3      296    -12
+1    9    Saints      6-4     291    -11
-4    10   Giants     6-4      280    -42
Once again, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
NFL Week 11 Picks
by FlyingHellfish on Comments
Photobucket is performing some maintenance on their site, so you'll have to picture in your head the bathing, beautiful, bikini-clad, blonde, bombshell I was going to put here. (Just kidding, but that was some pretty good alliteration, if I do say so myself.)
Last week I went 9-7, which isn't bad compared to the past three weeks, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Overall Record 90-54 Winning Pct .625
Here are Week 11's Picks (Winners in Bold)
Rams @ Panthers
Redskins @ Bucs
Bengals @ Saints
Titans @ Eagles
Bears @ Jets
Vikings @ Dolphins
Raiders @ Chiefs
Patriots @ Packers
Steelers @ Browns
Falcons @ Ravens
Bills @ Texans
Lions @ Cardinals
Seahawks @ 49ers
Colts @ Cowboys
Chargers @ Broncos
Giants @ Jaguars
Upset of the Week: I stand at 6-1 in this category and this week I've got 5 upsets picked: The Bengals, Jets, Lions, Chargers, and Giants. I'm going to go with the Lions over the Cardinals; the Lions are 2 point road underdogs, they are playing the doormat of the league in Arizona. They're gonna win this one...aren't they?
Mortal Lock of the Week: I have taken a beating in this category. I'm now 5-3 after the Patriots loss at home last week to the Jets. I should rename this category to the Maimed and Maligned Combination Lock of the Week, because my picks in this category just aren't standing up. Anyway, this week's lock: Eagles over Titans, nuff said.
Tigers Update: Tiger fans are no longer in limbo about free agent first baseman Sean Casey's status as a Tiger in 2007; he has been signed to a $4 million one year contract. Thank God. I didn't want to see him go, the guy is a great team player, gets along with everyone, plays pretty darned good defensively at first base and seems to always hit in the clutch.---However, it looks as though one of the underrated and key players from the 2006 Tigers will be gone in 2007. I'm talking about relief pitcher Jamie Walker, who, pending a physical today, is going to sign a 3 year deal with the Orioles worth $12 million. It's too bad to see him go, the Tigers just aren't willing to sign relief pitchers to contract of three years or more. He will be missed.
Michigan vs. Ohio State: There's no doubt by now, everyone in the country knows about this game and its impact on who will play in the National Championship Game in January. So I won't go into detail about it. If you're a mouth breathing Ohio State fan, well I don't have much to say to you other than: breath through your nose, your breath really stinks. If you are a Michigan fan, have faith, I'm sniffing an upset in Columbus on Saturday. If you really don't care who wins, then just pull for Michigan will ya? Go Blue!
That's it for me. If you missed the week 11 NFL rankings, just scroll down a bit. I'm off to Traverse City for the weekend.
Last week I went 9-7, which isn't bad compared to the past three weeks, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Overall Record 90-54 Winning Pct .625
Here are Week 11's Picks (Winners in Bold)
Rams @ Panthers
Redskins @ Bucs
Bengals @ Saints
Titans @ Eagles
Bears @ Jets
Vikings @ Dolphins
Raiders @ Chiefs
Patriots @ Packers
Steelers @ Browns
Falcons @ Ravens
Bills @ Texans
Lions @ Cardinals
Seahawks @ 49ers
Colts @ Cowboys
Chargers @ Broncos
Giants @ Jaguars
Upset of the Week: I stand at 6-1 in this category and this week I've got 5 upsets picked: The Bengals, Jets, Lions, Chargers, and Giants. I'm going to go with the Lions over the Cardinals; the Lions are 2 point road underdogs, they are playing the doormat of the league in Arizona. They're gonna win this one...aren't they?
Mortal Lock of the Week: I have taken a beating in this category. I'm now 5-3 after the Patriots loss at home last week to the Jets. I should rename this category to the Maimed and Maligned Combination Lock of the Week, because my picks in this category just aren't standing up. Anyway, this week's lock: Eagles over Titans, nuff said.
Tigers Update: Tiger fans are no longer in limbo about free agent first baseman Sean Casey's status as a Tiger in 2007; he has been signed to a $4 million one year contract. Thank God. I didn't want to see him go, the guy is a great team player, gets along with everyone, plays pretty darned good defensively at first base and seems to always hit in the clutch.---However, it looks as though one of the underrated and key players from the 2006 Tigers will be gone in 2007. I'm talking about relief pitcher Jamie Walker, who, pending a physical today, is going to sign a 3 year deal with the Orioles worth $12 million. It's too bad to see him go, the Tigers just aren't willing to sign relief pitchers to contract of three years or more. He will be missed.
Michigan vs. Ohio State: There's no doubt by now, everyone in the country knows about this game and its impact on who will play in the National Championship Game in January. So I won't go into detail about it. If you're a mouth breathing Ohio State fan, well I don't have much to say to you other than: breath through your nose, your breath really stinks. If you are a Michigan fan, have faith, I'm sniffing an upset in Columbus on Saturday. If you really don't care who wins, then just pull for Michigan will ya? Go Blue!
That's it for me. If you missed the week 11 NFL rankings, just scroll down a bit. I'm off to Traverse City for the weekend.
NFL Week 11 Rankings and more
by FlyingHellfish on Comments
This picture was taken on 3/8/06. It is a view of a section of the eastern coastline of the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
I debuted my NFL rankings last week and after sorting through some more stats today, here are week 11 rankings.
Chg Rk Team Record Total Chg
--- 1 Bears 8-1 418 +24
--- 2 Colts 9-0 402 +17
--- 3 Chargers 7-2 371 -10
--- 4 Patriots 6-3 328 -14
+2 5 Ravens 7-2 323 ---
-1 6 Giants 6-3 322 -16
+1 7 Cowboys 5-4 312 +10
+3 8 Eagles 5-4 310 +23
--- 9 Broncos 7-2 308 +7
-4 10 Saints 6-3 302 -24
-1 11 Jaguars 5-4 273 -18
+3 12 Steelers 3-6 240 +3
-1 13 Chiefs 5-4 239 -20
+2 14 Seahawks 6-3 233 +4
-2 15 Vikings 4-5 227 -27
-2 16 Falcons 5-4 225 -14
--- 17 Rams 4-5 215 ---
+1 18 Panthers 5-4 208 +21
+1 19 Dolphins 3-6 204 +21
-2 20 Bengals 4-5 201 -1
--- 21 Packers 4-5 194 +22
+1 22 Jets 5-4 170 +17
+3 23 Browns 3-6 145 +16
-2 24 Redskins 3-6 144 -24
+4 25 49ers 4-5 132 +28
-2 26 Lions 2-7 132 -20
+1 27 Texans 3-6 129 +24
-3 28 Bills 3-6 126 -8
+1 29 Raiders 2-7 106 +8
-3 30 Buccaneers 2-7 87 -21
--- 31 Titans 2-7 71 +8
--- 32 Cardinals 1-8 52 -11
Analysis: The top 4 teams remain unchanged, however, the Bears, Colts and Chargers have separated themselves from the pack a bit, as the clear-cut 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams in the rankings. The Eagles jump into the top 8, while the Saints lost 24 points and dropped 4 spots to fall out of the top 8 and into 10th overall. The 4th-10th teams seem to be pretty interchangeable, as only 26 points separate them. The Jaguars are essentially alone at 11th, as they are nearly 30 points below the Saints and nearly 30 points above the Steelers. The Steelers are a bit of a surprise, being ranked 12th, despite having only 3 wins this season. The reason: They have outscored their opponents by 8 points, they rank 5th overall in offense, and they rank 11th overall in defense; plus, a win over the 6-3 Saints on Sunday helped them jump 3 spots in the rankings. The Jets are the lowest ranked team with a winning record in the 22nd spot, however, they are separated by 25 points from the 23rd ranked Browns. The 49ers gained 4 spots and 24 points, jumping up to 25th after beating the Lions on Sunday. And it seems the Titans and Cardinals have settled into their spots nicely, at the bottom of the rankings.
Recommended Reading: Anyone who is a fan of the NFL should be sure to check out Gregg Easterbrook's Tuesday Morning Quarterback column, it appears weekly in the Page 2 section of ESPN.com. The column recaps the week that was in the NFL and it usually contains several obscure bits of trivia and information that often go unnoticed. This week's column included an interesting link to this site. Each week this website is updated and includes a color-coded map that indicates which NFL game will be seen in which viewing area, all across the country. The website helps to explain some of the quirks in NFL TV scheduling, and makes for some interesting reading (if you're in to that sort of thing).
Tigers Update: A pair of honors have been bestowed upon a couple of 2006 Tigers. First, rookie pitcher Justin Verlander has been named the 2006 American League Rookie of the Year. He is now the 4th Tiger to share the honor, joining the likes of: Harvey Kuenn (Shortstop 1953), Mark "The Bird" Fidrych (Starting Pitcher 1976) and "Sweet" Lou Whitaker (Second Base 1978 ). Verlander finished with a 17-9 record and a 3.63 ERA. Second, Jim Leyland has been named the American League Manager of the Year, he joins Sparky Anderson (1984 and 1987) as the only Tiger mangers to win this award. Kudos to Justin and Jim.
I'll post my NFL picks later this week.
Week 10 NFL Picks, and some other stuff (Revised and Updated)
by FlyingHellfish on Comments
It's been a great couple of days weather-wise in my neck of the woods. But all that will come to a halt soon, with the arrival of some cold temps and some snow. So, I thought I'd brighten up my profile with some pics at the top of the page.
Both of these pictures were taken on 3/7/2006. They are views from the leeward side of the island of Oahu in Hawaii. My wife and I spent 10 days on Oahu for our honeymoon. On this day we were at a Luau at Paradise Cove. For an idea of where we were on the island click here The Luau was okay, the food was good and the sunset was awesome!
Picks: I got waxed again this past week in the picks, only going 6-8. I was feeling good a few weeks ago, but now my picks are starting to fade. I can't have a losing record 3 weeks in row, so the bleeding stops now with this week's picks.
Overall Record 81-47 Winning Pct .633
Here are Week 10's Picks (Winners in Bold)
Jets @ Patriots
Redskins @ Eagles
Browns @ Falcons
Chiefs @ Dolphins
Packers @ Vikings
49ers @ Lions
Bills @ Colts
Ravens @ Titans
Texans @ Jaguars
Chargers @ Bengals
Broncos @ Raiders
Cowboys @ Cardinals
Rams @ Seahawks
Saints @ Steelers
Bears @ Giants
Buccaneers @ Panthers
Upset of the Week: Houston, we have a slight problem. To explain: I first pick all the games without knowing the point spreads and then after I make my selections, I check USA Today for the spreads. Well, this week I have unwittingly picked all the favorites. Despite not having an upset for this week, I'm not going to change one pick just for the sake of having an upset. All that being said, no upset this week. My record in this category stands at 6-1.
Mortal Lock of the Week: I'm going to go with the Patriots over the Jets. New England Head Coach, Bill Belichick, is upset about the way the Patriots strayed from their game plan against the Colts in the loss last week, and this week his Patriots will back with a vengence against the Jets. Added incentive for Belichick is the fact that the Jets are coached by Eric Mangini, who used to be an assistant coach with the Patriots under Belichick for several years. (5-2 in this category)
Tigers Update: To fill the void Don Slaught left as Hitting Coach Lloyd McClendon has been moved from Bullpen Coach to Hitting Coach and Jeff Jones now fills the Bullpen Coach job. Jones was the Pitching Coach for the Tigers Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mudhens.---The Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America has named Tigers Shortstop Carlos Guillen, Tiger of the Year. Congrats to Carlos.
Tigers Update 11/10: The Tigers have traded 3 pitching prospects to the Yankees in return for outfielder and power hitter, Gary Sheffield. For more info on the deal check out this article
Colts Update: Not a whole lot going on in this area, except for the fact the the Colts are now 8-0 and a full 2 games up on everyone in the AFC. They play the Bills this weekend at home. The Bears were supposed to continue winning games and steal the national media spotlight away from the Colts. But now that the Colts are the sole undefeated team in the NFL, its going to be a repeat of last season, where every week there are comparisons to the '72 Dolphins and the will they or won't they debate.
And finally, to anyone still reading, For fun, (I know, I'm crazy) every year I come up with a formula to determine an overall ranking for all the teams in the NFL. Now that every team has played the same amount of games, I can now apply my formula. It uses Total Offensive Yards Gained, Total Defensive Yards Allowed, Points Scored, Points Allowed, Win-Loss Record and Strength of Schedule. All these things help in determining a team's individual score. The highest possible score is 500 and the lowest is 0.
Here are the rankings:
Team W-L Pts.
1 Bears 7-1 394
2 Colts 8-0 385
3 Chargers 6-2 381
4 Patriots 6-2 342
5 Giants 6-2 338
6 Saints 6-2 326
7 Ravens 6-2 323
8 Cowboys 4-4 302
9 Broncos 6-2 301
10 Jaguars 5-3 291
11 Eagles 4-4 287
12 Chiefs 5-3 259
13 Vikings 4-4 254
14 Falcons 5-3 239
15 Steelers 2-6 237
16 Seahawks 5-3 229
17 Rams 4-4 215
18 Bengals 4-4 202
19 Panthers 4-4 187
20 Dolphins 2-6 183
21 Packers 3-5 172
22 Redskins 3-5 168
23 Jets 4-4 153
24 Lions 2-6 152
25 Bills 3-5 134
26 Browns 2-6 129
27 Buccaneers 2-6 108
28 Texans 2-6 105
29 49ers 3-5 104
30 Raiders 2-6 98
31 Titans 2-6 63
32 Cardinals 1-7 63
As you can see the rankings are clearly debatable: The 2-6 Steelers are #15. Two reasons: they rank 8th in overall defense and 6th in overall offense and even though they have lost 6 games they still have outscored their opponents 177-176. All of this factors into their ranking. And I'm clearly not biased in the rankings towards the Colts, because they are #2 and not #1. The Bears in my opinion aren't the best team in the league and they certainly aren't better than the Colts, but the rankings should become more accurate as the weeks go by. For the most part I agree with the rankings, even though the Cowboys and Steelers seem high at #8 and #15.
This is FlyingHellfish, signing off.
Both of these pictures were taken on 3/7/2006. They are views from the leeward side of the island of Oahu in Hawaii. My wife and I spent 10 days on Oahu for our honeymoon. On this day we were at a Luau at Paradise Cove. For an idea of where we were on the island click here The Luau was okay, the food was good and the sunset was awesome!
Picks: I got waxed again this past week in the picks, only going 6-8. I was feeling good a few weeks ago, but now my picks are starting to fade. I can't have a losing record 3 weeks in row, so the bleeding stops now with this week's picks.
Overall Record 81-47 Winning Pct .633
Here are Week 10's Picks (Winners in Bold)
Jets @ Patriots
Redskins @ Eagles
Browns @ Falcons
Chiefs @ Dolphins
Packers @ Vikings
49ers @ Lions
Bills @ Colts
Ravens @ Titans
Texans @ Jaguars
Chargers @ Bengals
Broncos @ Raiders
Cowboys @ Cardinals
Rams @ Seahawks
Saints @ Steelers
Bears @ Giants
Buccaneers @ Panthers
Upset of the Week: Houston, we have a slight problem. To explain: I first pick all the games without knowing the point spreads and then after I make my selections, I check USA Today for the spreads. Well, this week I have unwittingly picked all the favorites. Despite not having an upset for this week, I'm not going to change one pick just for the sake of having an upset. All that being said, no upset this week. My record in this category stands at 6-1.
Mortal Lock of the Week: I'm going to go with the Patriots over the Jets. New England Head Coach, Bill Belichick, is upset about the way the Patriots strayed from their game plan against the Colts in the loss last week, and this week his Patriots will back with a vengence against the Jets. Added incentive for Belichick is the fact that the Jets are coached by Eric Mangini, who used to be an assistant coach with the Patriots under Belichick for several years. (5-2 in this category)
Tigers Update: To fill the void Don Slaught left as Hitting Coach Lloyd McClendon has been moved from Bullpen Coach to Hitting Coach and Jeff Jones now fills the Bullpen Coach job. Jones was the Pitching Coach for the Tigers Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mudhens.---The Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America has named Tigers Shortstop Carlos Guillen, Tiger of the Year. Congrats to Carlos.
Tigers Update 11/10: The Tigers have traded 3 pitching prospects to the Yankees in return for outfielder and power hitter, Gary Sheffield. For more info on the deal check out this article
Colts Update: Not a whole lot going on in this area, except for the fact the the Colts are now 8-0 and a full 2 games up on everyone in the AFC. They play the Bills this weekend at home. The Bears were supposed to continue winning games and steal the national media spotlight away from the Colts. But now that the Colts are the sole undefeated team in the NFL, its going to be a repeat of last season, where every week there are comparisons to the '72 Dolphins and the will they or won't they debate.
And finally, to anyone still reading, For fun, (I know, I'm crazy) every year I come up with a formula to determine an overall ranking for all the teams in the NFL. Now that every team has played the same amount of games, I can now apply my formula. It uses Total Offensive Yards Gained, Total Defensive Yards Allowed, Points Scored, Points Allowed, Win-Loss Record and Strength of Schedule. All these things help in determining a team's individual score. The highest possible score is 500 and the lowest is 0.
Here are the rankings:
Team W-L Pts.
1 Bears 7-1 394
2 Colts 8-0 385
3 Chargers 6-2 381
4 Patriots 6-2 342
5 Giants 6-2 338
6 Saints 6-2 326
7 Ravens 6-2 323
8 Cowboys 4-4 302
9 Broncos 6-2 301
10 Jaguars 5-3 291
11 Eagles 4-4 287
12 Chiefs 5-3 259
13 Vikings 4-4 254
14 Falcons 5-3 239
15 Steelers 2-6 237
16 Seahawks 5-3 229
17 Rams 4-4 215
18 Bengals 4-4 202
19 Panthers 4-4 187
20 Dolphins 2-6 183
21 Packers 3-5 172
22 Redskins 3-5 168
23 Jets 4-4 153
24 Lions 2-6 152
25 Bills 3-5 134
26 Browns 2-6 129
27 Buccaneers 2-6 108
28 Texans 2-6 105
29 49ers 3-5 104
30 Raiders 2-6 98
31 Titans 2-6 63
32 Cardinals 1-7 63
As you can see the rankings are clearly debatable: The 2-6 Steelers are #15. Two reasons: they rank 8th in overall defense and 6th in overall offense and even though they have lost 6 games they still have outscored their opponents 177-176. All of this factors into their ranking. And I'm clearly not biased in the rankings towards the Colts, because they are #2 and not #1. The Bears in my opinion aren't the best team in the league and they certainly aren't better than the Colts, but the rankings should become more accurate as the weeks go by. For the most part I agree with the rankings, even though the Cowboys and Steelers seem high at #8 and #15.
This is FlyingHellfish, signing off.
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