Dave's LOCKS of the Week, Week 15

Last Chrsitmas, I gave you my heart

The very next day, you gave it away

This year, to save me from tears,

I'm giving you

Dave's (ring ring!)

LOCKS (ho ho ho!)

of the Week (bing bong!)

Dave's IT'S A WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS OR SO LOCKS of the Week

Week 15

Season's Greetings Gentlemen and Gentle Ladies! It's our week before Xmas picks here on LOCKS of the Week. This week, we feature several interesting matchups. LOCKS went 3-0, to put the season record at 23-16!! oooh baby, now time to lock in the picks:

First! To the Thursday night game in Jacksonville... The Indianapolis C*O*L*T*S are a medic crew right now. EVERYBODY is injured! 20+ players! It's time for Dave to make his...

STUPENDOUS GUARANTEE OF THE MONTH (tm)

The Jaguars *will*, not might, not could, I say WILL beat the Colts on Thursday night! There's no point spread, but I have this thing under LOCK and key. Stop thinking about benching starters, Colts fans. Jags take it, BELIEVE IT!

Next! To the Steel City where the mighty have fallen... and fallen, and fallen and FALLEN. The Steelers, two months ago would be a 7 point favorite this week hosting the Packers. Today, they are barely a 1 point favorite. Even though Pittsburgh falls on hard times, I'll take the Stillllers to cover (+1) and beat the Pack. The Law of Averages has to win sometime... I find it hard to believe that this team would lose 6 games in a row.

Lastly I'll be headin' to Nashville where both teams could potentially be without their starting QB. The Titans host the Dolphins, and Titans fans will continue to keep the faith! The game is a pick 'em, which means (no line). I'm taking the Titans to pick up the pace and beat the Dolphins outright, at home.

I saww mommy kissing

Dave's (smooch!)

LOCKS (riiip!)

of the Week (bling!)

Merry Christmas to you and Chanukkah to others of you!

Review: JAX (no line) at home; PIT (-1) at home; TEN (no line) at home

Dave's ATTEMPTS of the Week, Week 14

Oh man... another tough set of point spreads on

Dave's (CLOP!)

LOCKS (POP!)

of the Week (CLINK!)

Dave's ATTEMPTS of the Week

Week 14 (well, its two times seven...?)

WOW, look at the tough picks this week... this is tough. 1-2 last week, brining me to 21-18. My winning season is in jeopardy!

Speaking of which, we start our journey in HOT-lanta where the Falcons host the Saints. Talk about Jeopardy! The Falcons are in danger of blowing back to back winning seasons, which has NEVER happened in their franchise history. That's both impressive and depressing. This week, they're a (+10.5) point dog against the undefeated Saints.

The Falcons have numerous injuries: Ryan is banged up, Turner is too... not looking too good. But, the fact remains, Roddy White is still hanging around as is Tony Gonzalez. Could be a good effort for the Georgia Peaches. I'm taking the Falcons and the points (+10.5)!

Next, out to the Meadowlands! It's another division clash between the Giants and Eagles. Nothing giant about these two teams, this is the epitome of mediocrity. The Eagles... they can't even win consistently, but they might be able to beat the Giants here on the road. The key is, while McNabb can't handle a west coast offense, he CAN handle launching the ball to receivers who burn the secondary. The Giants secondary is lousy right now, and I think the Eagles might pull off the minor upset. The point spread is just (+1) but I'll take the point and go EAGLES... E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!

I must be nuts...

Finally the Colts are at home to face the Broncos. Indy is favored by (-7), and they have played very well at home. Talk about a battle of the horses. In this one I'm taking the thoroughbreds, and that's the Colts... Colts to win place AND show (-7) at home!

That's the tricky outlook for

Dave's (VROOM!)

LOCKS (SCREECH!)

of the Week (wum wum wum wum...)

To review: ATL (+10.5) at home; PHI (+1) at NYG; IND(-7) at home.

Games that Count

Oregon State vs Oregon was everything college football should be. Intense, meaningful, and emotional.

Oregon was the victor 37-33, and for that they get to go to the Rose Bowl. The game was thrilling every step of the sway.

Now, do you see the value in a bowl system, as opposed to a fabricated playoff system?

86 Yards

This is normally where I write in a cheezy double entendre Title and use some hyperbole to describe my reaction to a big game. Today I'll keep it simple:

86 yards.

It was on the road against a very firece crowd. If ESPN broadcasters Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit are to believed, the loudest crowd they have heard in their lives. It was Ohio Stadium, cheering hard for the buckeyes on a Saturday night, and there they were, up 15-10 in what was touted as a HUGE game between visiting USC and the hometown Ohio State.

Way back in January I remember hearing about this game! There was so much on the line for a Week 2 game. This wasn't just a game for Ohio State, this was a game for the entire Big Ten. Everyone remembers how Ohio State was clobbered in multiple bowl games, and most folks still have USC's 2008 Buckeye Pounding fresh on their mind.

Last night, it seemed like the state of Ohio was going to issue huge payback to the rest of the nation. Before the game started, I insisted Ohio State needed not to win, not to dominate, but needed to compete. I was really fed up with their ineptitude in past games such as this.

Also before the game started, I had two good reasons to believe Ohio State would deliver:

1. In the Fiesta Bowl last year, Ohio State really gave Texas the business, and practically embarrasssed the Longhorns, who were favored in most peoples' minds. This was a big moral victory for the Big Ten. Unfortunately, Texas still won.

2. Not only were the Buckeyes at home, but they faced a USC team that lost most of its defensive starters, and also a USC team with a true freshman, Matt Barkley, at quarterback.

We saw the Buckeyes stifle the Trojans for most of the game. The running game was mostly stopped, and Barkley looked like... well, a true freshman.

Then the fourth quarter showed me something special. The Trojans took the ball at their own 14 yard line. Only about 4 minutes remained in regulation. From then on, Matt Barkley quarterbacked the drive of champions: it was a wonderful Touchdown Drive, capped off by a rushing touchdown, which put the Trojans ahead 16-10 with about a minute left. Pete Caroll wisely went for two, and completed the two point conversion. The Trojans fought all the way back and led 18-10.

The Trojan defense took over from there, keeping the Buckeyes at bay, where they never crossed the Trojan 40 yard line. The game ended and a relatively inexperienced USC celebrated on the field!

What a game! First of all, the kind of drive we saw from Matt Barkley is a feat we don't often see from most Senior Quarterbacks. I've never seen Tim Tebow put a team on a game winning drive such as this. I haven't even seen Matt Leinart do this when he was at SC. I could be wrong (feel free to post below if I am). Anyway, two things impressed me besides this drive:

One was Pete Caroll's game plan. I was amazed at how well he prepared for Ohio State. He knew that on the road, a mostly conservative, run happy, game plan was going to succeed, and by George, he was right! Caroll knew that the name of the game was turnovers, and with fewer turnovers, the Trojans would hang around the whole way. Only one interception was thrown by freshman Matt Barkley on this night.

Secondly, and more importantly, I was impressed by how well Ohio State played last night. I imagine Buckeye fans are so disappointed, but they really shouldn't be. I am very proud of their defense last night and their ability to control the ball. 86 yards is the reason they lost, but there was no true shame last night.

Ohio State will drop in the polls, but they will rise in the minds of many. The respect for Ohio State and the Big Ten is sure to be as good as its ever been. I, for one, feel that Ohio State may not have won the game, but they notched a big win for the Big Ten. As Herbstreit says: this may be one game of a two game series.

The rematch? The National Championship game: at the Rose Bowl. It's otherwise known as "A Return to Glory."

More on the Labor Day Laser-Shootout...

A couple of other things impressed me on this night:

Jacory Harris is a man who I've never seen play before, but on Monday I saw something special. Jacory Harris proved last night that he is indeed quite the athlete. However, unlike most mobile quarterbacks, he decided to use the biggest muscle in his body: his mind. I know some of his success is owed to Florida State's extremely soft pass coverage, but Harris set himself apart from other "mobile QBs" like Michael Vick, Terrelle Pryor, and yes, sports fans, even Tim Tebow. He's still a work in progress, but I felt like Harris made some great moves last night.

and in a twist...

Christian Ponder had a similar style, but opted to use his feet more than his arm in big moments. A highlight of his night included a big run to set up a score mid-way through the fourth quarter. Ponder certainly knows about his counterpart in Gainesville. I wonder if he and the FSU staff weren't inspired by the doings of the Gators?

Travis Benjamin made a terrific catch for Miami on this night. Actually, he made a few of them. Now again, he was wide open on a lot of his receptions, but he did make a great catch near the sideline towards the end of the game. Fortunately he had his back foot firmly on the ground when he got control of the catch. Had he lifted that foot an inch, the huge pass from Jacory Harris wouldn't count, and likely the Seminoles keep the lead.

There were many stars on this night, and it was one reason why I enjoyed this matchup immensely.

Why Should I Worry?

This post is called Why Should I Worry?

Why Should Sam Bradford Worry?

It seemed like the season was over for both OU and Bradford after Sam was pile drived into the turf at the new Cowboys Stadium. OU suffers a major setback with the ensuing loss to BYU. It seems like Sam Bradford's hopes at a big season and another Heisman are dashed. However, Bradfor ought to be back next month. Not all is lost!

Why Should the SEC Worry?

Not a convincing weekend for SEC Football. LSU gets all it can handle at Washington, Florida embarrasses itself and Charleston Southern by even agreeing to play the game (and yes I understand the benefits and money going to CSU). Despite all this, I think it's still clear both teams are solid in the SEC. Florida's action to even host their game is inexcusable and in all honesty, it shouldn't count. The Gators, however, will have a decent enough schedule the rest of the way to make up for it.

Why Should Matt Barkley Worry?

Seriously, why should Barkley worry? Everyone wrote him off and declared him a failure from the get go. And yet, he turns up a sparkling performance in his USC Debut: 15 for 19, 233 yards, and a Touchdown Pass. I think it's safe to say he's ready for a starting role.

Why Should the Los Angeles Dodgers Worry?

It would be so easy to write this team off now. After all, they are .500 since the All-Star Break. Perhaps the schedule is just catching up to them. Perhaps injuries are catching up to them. Perhaps the stigma of a steroids allegation is catching up to them. Whatever it is, the Dodgers have shown more truly positive signs over the last week, as opposed to signs of danger.

Indeed, the last few games featured great Dodger pitching, one very spritied comeback that came short, and a lineup that suddenly has a pretty good gauntlet in it: Manny, Ethier, Kemp, Thome, Loney, Belliard (not exactly in that order or the same lineup). I don't know about you, but ignore the standings for now: I think the Dodgers could be looking up towards October. They look ready to break out at any moment.

So Why Should I Worry? It's early, and who knows what the future will bring?

Dave in the City Transcript: Segment 2

Welcome back, "In the City." I'm Dave Medina.

You know, I never thought cold weather would return to Calfornia, and its quite an adjustment. I think I have 10 layers on right now. I also have no heating... none! Grr...

Quickly, a note on the BCS Championship in 3D. I brought up the test screening earlier, and of course we know that 3ality is commissioned to produce the event... but wait until you get a load of the theatres showing the game. They're all in the sticks! Tulare?! Riverbank?! Livermore?!?!?! Wow! It's as if they're purposely forcing us to go to redneck territory to watch this thing. ...No thanks.

Anyway, the Bowl Season is almost underway. Sure, we all know about the most important games, bah, it's been played. Let's touch on the biggest "little" games of the Bowl season.

This is in no particular order, by the way:

Poinsetta Bowl, TCU vs Boise State. This game looks really evenly matched. Admittedly I haven't had a chance to pay enough attention to TCU, but remember they gave Utah a good game a few weeks ago. Boise State, can't say enough about them. They're dominating teams every week, albeit very lousy ones. The matchup, on paper, seems fascinating. Will the WAC Team beat the Mountain West team or vice versa?

next theres the

Hawaii Bowl, Hawaii vs Notre Dame: Anyone else puzzled with how Hawaii is allowed to basically host an extra home game? Anyway, a meeting between the Warriors and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is gold waiting to happen. Hey they always say, there's a pot of gold waiting at the end of the rainbow, right? So if you match the rainbow against the gold, who wins? That, alone, is reason to watch this game!

Ok, moving on,

Lets take a look at the Emerald Bowl, Miami (FL) vs Cal: I just like the idea of a bowl game at AT&T Park. Are they selling the popcorn for this one?

oooh here's my favorite... the

Holiday Bowl, Oklahoma State vs Oregon: This game never disappoints! Imagine the score? Pick the over!! I can't wait to see them get it on! aw, who knows... for all I know OSU will clobber Oregon. They're men and they're (scoring) 40!!

and finally there's the

Capital One Bowl, Georgia vs Michigan State: This game ALSO never disappoints. Remember last year when the Wolverines upset Florida in this game? Michigan state could be due for a similar upset this time around. Michigan State isn't as bad as we think... and Georgia flat out ain't as good as we think either. The result: a very competitive game down to the wire!

and with my limited knowledge, THAT is our preview of Bowl Week, In the City...

When we return, we'll take a look at the NFL's teams to beat in the playoffs. That's coming up...

hoo boy, I have to do it, you guys... I can't help myself. In fact, go ahead and throw a shoe at me after listening to this break. oof... This is DAVE IN THE CITY


Break: Happy New Year (ABBA) <-- I know, I know...

Dave in the City Podcast: Thursday

Today's podcast covers more from the MLB Winter Meetings, a look at the Heisman Candidates, and this week's NFL preview, in a new segment we call "Roll Call"

Enjoy everyone!

Link: Dave in the City Podcast (12-11-08)

Florida vs the Universe

Monday Night Football last night was an AMAZING performance by the Saints, but other than the points scored, not much of a story in New Orleans... although I'd like to congratulate Deuce McCallister for setting a new Saints touchdowns record. Way to go!

Still, not really significant far as the playoff picture. Does anyone really think the Saints OR the Packers are real playoff contenders? ummm... dang I'll have to address that in a moment! That's a good question!!

Anyway, I wanted to discuss the Florida Gators...

The Gators played 11 games so far, with two games to go.

Of the 11, I recall only three meetings vs ranked teams: Georgia, LSU, and South Carolina. All of them were grossly overrated.

Is Florida overrated? Now, from a talent and defense standpoint, I'm confident the Gators are the best team out there, but as far as being "battle tested" they are not that.

USC, as dumb as this sounds, got through much more adversity against tough road opponents. Oregon State is hard to beat at Corvallis, and daggunit, they might win the Pac 10! Florida's loss to Ole Miss was far worse.

It's interesting. I'm not about to say USC is better than Florida, since I literally have no idea how to compare them. On the other hand, I'll never forget...

Florida vs Michigan: LOST in bowl game
USC vs Michigan: Kicked the tar out of Michigan in bowl game.

and it really was the same Michigan team both years. Food for thought...

YOUR Weekend Football Preview

LOCKS contributor Andrew Jacobsen, coming off a week when he saw zero football the whole weekend, offers his latest WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW. Enjoy, folks:

Ahhhhhh…another week in the books and back to the weekend. Unfortunately, the season is winding down quickly…almost too quickly. College football season will be essentially done in less then 3 weeks. That makes me sad. What am I going to do with my Saturday afternoons in December? Clean my apartment? Ummmmm…I don’t think so. Christmas shopping? Forget about it.

Very soon there will be a large void in my life. College football will have left me for another year. I mean, sure we’ll have the bowl games and everything but that’s like breaking up with your girlfriend and then hooking up one last time before you know its all over. Its great…but still sad and depressing.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAY

This is called rivalry week in college football and rivalries are great…if both teams are good. I’m looking at the list of games this week, and yeah, rivalry games but most of them suck. Ohio St/Michigan…probably the best rivalry in college football should be a laugher this year. Washington/Washington State…features two of the worst teams in college football. Not all rivalries are great all the time. Looks like we are learning that lesson this week.

Michigan State/Penn St – Luckily for all of us college football fans, Iowa was able to beat Penn State two weeks ago and spare us having to see them in the national championship game. Will Michigan State beat them and spare us from watching them in the Rose Bowl. Wait…what? Ohio State would go to the Rose Bowl if Penn State loses? Screw it…GO PENN STATE!!!

BYU/Utah – Wow. This could be a very entertaining, high scoring, close college football game. I can’t wait to watch this one…wait? What? Its on the Mountain Network? What the hell is that?! Does anyone not living in Utah or Montana actually get that channel? I don’t think so. Unfortunately, this will be one I miss. The highlights should be fun though.

Texas Tech/Oklahoma – Best game of the day. Tech could take a very BIG step with a win here towards being in the national championship game. Oklahoma still has national championship hopes as well. You guys want a college football playoff? Well, this is about as close as we get.

SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!

Jets/Titans – All the sudden, with a win last week over the Pats, the NY Bretts have become the front runner in the AFC East. They visit TEN this weekend and take on the undefeated Titans. Can the Titans make it to Thanksgiving Day undefeated? Oh Lord…I hope so.

Patriots/Dolphins – Early in the season the Dolphins went into NE and beat up the Patriots pretty good with their funky wildcat offense. Everybody thought it was a fluke…especially me. Well, since then, the Dolphins have still been beating people with the Wildcat Offense and all of the sudden are in the playoff hunt. Yikes! I can’t imagine the Dolphins in the playoffs without you know who as their QB…yep…Jay Fiedler.

Giants/Cardinals – Possible playoff preview anyone? Well, it very well could be. Giants are probably playing the best out of anyone in the NFL and they face the Cardinals who really no one knows how good they are. Could Kurt Warner really be this years MVP? WOW. Talk about your lame NFL season…what year is this? 1999?

Colts/Bolts – Nice little Sunday night game for two teams that are in desperate need of a win. Both, right now, are on the outside looking in at the playoff picture and only one of them would be likely to make it. Winners season is still alive…loser…well, start making New Years plans.

There you go boys and girls. Another Friday…another football preview. I’ll actually get to watch some games this weekend. Yay!

Andrew Jacobsen

YOUR Weekend Football Preview

The recent Tea Fire postponed the latest WFP, but here it is, seconds after Ohio State's kickoff. Andrew and the WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW:

The very appropriately titled “YOUR Weekend Football Preview”. Why? Because I will see very little…if any…football this weekend.

Yep, looks like a football free weekend for me. Instead I will be attending a wedding this weekend and be missing everything. Somebody will have to fill me in when I get back (I’m looking at you ESPN).

However, the football gods know that I love them…so they made sure that there was a long list of crap’tastic games this weekend on the schedule in BOTH college and pro football. Really, the best game is Sunday night…which will likely be the only game I watch all weekend. THANK YOU FOOTBALL GODS!! You know I love you!

See, that’s how you do it gentlemen. You praise the football gods all year long…so when the one weekend in the winter or fall that you have no choice but to miss an entire weekend of football action…the gods will bless you with a crappy schedule of games so you miss almost nothing.

Of course, crappy schedule of games usually leads to a brief preview. Let me see if there is a game or two I can find worth mentioning.

SATURDAY FOOTBALL

South Carolina/Florida – Steve Spurrier returns to Florida again…only to get pummeled by his former team. More then likely, I mean. Florida, to me, has looked like the best team in the country over the past few weeks. Hopefully they can keep it up and my bet on them to win the national championship stays alive! Please!

USC/Stanford – last year, as a 40 point underdog, Stanford actually beat USC just down the street from me. Awesome game! Awesome ending! Can it happen again? No. Damn.

Texas/Kansas – Another possibility of being one of those exciting (meaning no defense) BIG-12 shootouts. Some people see upset potential…although, Kansas has sucked versus good BIG-12 teams this year. Texas might be the best. Texas wins.

That’s if for college. Those last two were even a stretch to make the preview, but I had to put something down, right?

PRO ATHLETE SUNDAY

Bears/Packers – Its been years since it seemed like both these teams were good the same year…and maybe both aren’t that good this year either BUT at least they both are in the hunt for first place in the NFC North (even if the division isn’t THAT good). Its about time one of these rivals had a meaningful game against each other!

Titans/Jaguars – Well, the jaguars couldn’t beat the 0-fer Bengals (although made up for it and were able to take care of the 0-fer Lions last week) Will they be to beat the Lossless Titans? Let the undefeated Titans watch begin! (My guess is it doesn’t last long).

Chargers/Steelers – Both these playoff teams from last year just can’t seem to put it together…the Chargers more so then the Steelers. Even despite both teams struggles, we..I mean, YOU…should be in for a good one from Pittsburgh.

Cowboys/Redskins – The Return of Romo. That’s what this game is being billed as. Will he be enough to help a pretty disorganized Cowboys team? I hope not. The Cowboys falling apart has been one of the best stories this football season. Maybe he’ll break a toe this time. Redskins come into the game pretty banged up…even though they didn’t play last week. Seriously…what are these guys doing on their bye weeks?

Well, that’s it folks. Hope you enjoyed the Thursday edition. Wish me luck this weekend…I will need it. I don’t know which would be better…going to a wedding where you are going to know almost no one…or getting hit by Ray Lewis. I might take the latter…

Andrew Jacobsen

A "SCAR" for Florida?

You never know. Jim Mora would say "you THINK you know, but you don't... know."

The Florida Gators have played exceptional defense over the last three weeks. In those weeks, the Gators gave up a total of 29 points. Not an average, mind you, a TOTAL! In those games they won by a combined 124-29.

Why, then, would Dave and LOCKS of the Week project a nail-biter at the swamp this Saturday?

Simply put, the South Carolina (SCAR, if you will) Gamecocks have a good defense themselves. Witness, for example, September 13th, when the Gamecocks nearly upset Georgia, but still lost 14-7. Imagine, though, giving up only 14 points to a ranked team of any kind from the SEC.

The most points South Carolina gave up in any game was 24, allowed three times to Vandy, Ole' Miss, and LSU respectively.

Strangely enough, the Gators had wildly different outcomes when they played those same teams.

Against Ole' Miss, they blew the game completely, 31-30
Against LSU, they torched the Tigers 51-21
Against Vandy, they smoked the Commodores 42-14

Why, then, are the Gators favored by a whopping 21 points? It seems unusual to award the Gators a huge spread when the Gamecocks gave several SEC teams all it could handle.

South Carolina isn't the greatest scoring team in the land, but don't be surprised if the Gamecocks put a little "SCAR" into Florida's margin of victory. I believe they'll give Florida a much tougher game than experts predict, even if the game is played in Gainsville.

It remains to be seen what really happens. Be sure to find out as it unfolds LIVE on CBS! 3:30 pm ET. Be there!!

WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Even with a slow week in football, Andrew Jacobsen returns with another WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW:

What a week huh? We elected a new president and…well…ummmmmmmmmm…hmmmmmm…what else? Geez. I can’t think of anything. Yeah, sure it was a big week because of the election and everything that happen on Tuesday BUT…

It was a boring week in sports. Seriously. What BIG news stories happen this week in football? Yeah, the #1 college football team lost….again. That wasn’t tremendously unexpected though. BIG NFL news? Brady Quinn starts for the Browns and plays well in his first start. Really? That’s the biggest NFL news all week? Ugh! How boring. Looks like we are in a little bit of a mid-season lull. I mean, I can only hear people complain about the BCS for so long before I want to blow my own head off. You know?

Well, with nothing for me to comment on here, lets get to the games.

College ‘ball

Alabama/LSU – On paper, this has the makings of a very interesting matchup. Nick Saban returns to LSU…and they still haven’t gotten over him leaving down there. They would like nothing better then to beat Saban and take down the #1 team in the country and likely ruin Alabama’s shot at a national championship. Will that happen? I don’t think so. But still, it would be something if it did, which makes this game a “must watch.”

Penn St./Iowa – I still, despite being at #3 in the latest BCS, think that Penn St. is in control of their own destiny to the national championship game. I still don’t think any team in the SEC or BIG-12 (certainly both) will finish undefeated. Therefore, this could be the biggest test left for Penn State and a undefeated season. Personally, I want Penn State to lose. I still don’t think they are a top 5 team in the country. Go Iowa!

Oklahoma St/Texas Tech – WOW! What happen? How did two virtually ignored programs in the BIG-12 all the sudden ascend to a point to where they are the “must watch” college football game of the weekend? Crazy huh? Must watch…well…not if you live on the pacific coast. Instead, we will have to sit through another USC beat down of a mediocre Pac-10 team (Cal). Oh boy! Once again I will not be able to watch maybe the best game of the weekend. I HATE YOU PAC-10! I HATE YOU!

[Editor's Note: Again with people bashing the Pac-10! This is ABC's fault. They had every opportunity to move the USC game to 12:30 and leave 5pm alone. But everyone loooooves to put down the West Coast. Enough!]

The Pros

One game in the books already (a pretty good game at that) and a good number of interesting matchups this weekend…

NO/ATL – Geez. Who would have thought at the beginning of the year that this matchup would be a pivotal game in the race for division leader in the NFC South? I sure didn’t…nor did I thin the Falcons would have a better record then the Saints at this point of the season. Falcons have kind of quietly been a very, very good team this year. Interesting QB matchup here too with Brees going against the NFL Rookie of the Year (so far), Matt Ryan.

[Second Editor's Note: Am I the only one who thought the Falcons were going to be vastly improved this year? It's not like the Bucs or Panthers posed any legitimate threat to dominate the South. Just saying...]

BUF/NE – What the hell happen to my Bills? I was drinking the Bills kool-aid two weeks ago (after beating SD) but now they have dropped two in a row. Both teams are tied atop the AFC East and this game could go a long way in determining who wins that AFC East.

TEN/CHI – Welcome back Rex Grossman…ohhhhh, how we have missed you. Seriously, its great to have him back, right? And against the leagues best defense nonetheless…what a treat! I think its going to be good times watching the highlights of this one Sunday night…probably will be the funniest thing on TV all night. Can the Titans remain undefeated?

INDY/PIT – Once again, another one of those ‘must win” games for the Colts. Seriously, how many of those can one team have in a season? The Colts still aren’t right. I mean, they barely beat a weakened NE team at home last week. Now the get the Steelers who will likely be without Big Ben AND Willie Parker. Two teams that are a shell of their former selves. Sounds like a great game to watch to me!

NYG/PHIL – Oh yes…another NFC east battle. Can’t forget this one. Eagles seem to be getting healthier after a tough time of it there in October. It’s a crowded division but the Giants can once again create a good amount of separation between them and the teams trying to catch them with a win here…and on the road. Should be a good one to end the day with on Sunday.

Welp..thats it I guess. Have a great weekend everybody and enjoy the games.

Andrew Jacobsen

The (Temporary) BCS Standings

Like the ol' CBS 1973 Promo Campaign sang "This year, like last year, the best is right here..."

Until next week, that is!

Here are the soon to be shuffled BCS top 5 rankings:

1. Alabama
2. Texas Tech
3. Penn State
4. Texas
5. Florida

(Oklahoma checks in at #6 and USC is right behind at #7)

Interesting, isn't it? It seems radical to place Texas Tech at number two so quickly, but not so!

Texas Tech is still undefeated as of November 2nd. Up to now, they beat the number one team in the country, Texas. In addition, Tech beat one time BCS hopeful Kansas 63-21. While the rest of the schedule is lousy, Texas Tech has a strong case for Number 2.

But it's not going to last! Texas Tech faces Oklahoma State next, who already beat Missouri and nearly beat Texas themselves. If Texas Tech survives that, they'll have to go to Norman and try to stop Oklahoma. Oklahoma is unstoppable at Norman, having won every home game by 20+ points.

Alabama is currently #1. They mostly earned it, given their unbeaten record.

But it's not going to last! Very few experts buy into Alabama's strength of schedule, having played two ranked opponents (Tennessee doesn't count!). Their point differential is +183, seemingly impressive, but also buoyed by two blowout wins of dreadful Tennessee and Arkansas State. Next, 'Bama travels to Baton Rouge to face LSU. One would be hard pressed to think they come out of there with a win.

Penn State is ranked #3. PSU had the week off, and as a result, avoided any potential upsets.


How to Get to the BCS Championship Game

In all likihood, Penn State will remain undefeated. That leaves 5 teams to compete for one spot. Alabama can be eliminated right off the bat. Even if they survive LSU, the Crimson Tide could potentially face Florida for the SEC Championship.

First of all, Alabama can be eliminated altogether. No one is convinced they'll finish undefeated, and they will NOT get the nod over any other one loss team, especially Florida.

If Texas Tech wins out, the Red Raiders are in automatically. However, there's a serious possibility of a let-down against Oklahoma State next week, as detailed previously.

As for Texas and Oklahoma, it's as simple as this. If Texas or Oklahoma win the Big 12, they're in, but not without some help. Texas defeated the Sooners and Texas Tech beat Texas, so unless USC, Florida, Texas Tech, and Alabama lose another game it would be a slim chance for the either team.

Florida may have the safest path to the BCS Championship. Suffice it to say, their strength of schedule in-conference helps them dramatically in the BCS standings. If Florida can win out and clinch the SEC title, they will get the benefit of the doubt over every other one loss team in the standings. The odds are highly against Texas Tech and Alabama finishing undefeated.

Then... there is the forgotten team.

USC. SC is the much maligned, deservedly so, powerhouse that plays in the lousy Pac-10. Again, if Penn State finished undefeated, forget about it. But, if Penn State lost a game...

Five teams remain to compete for two spots.

Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech have the cruel fate of being in the same division! Two of the three teams are eliminated automatically while the third goes to the Big 12 Championship game.

Then...

Three teams remain to compete for one spot: Alabama, Florida, and USC.

Alabama, it bears repeating, should be eliminated entirely. Florida alone would get precedence, assuming Florida wins the SEC.

Two teams now compete for one spot: Florida and USC.

USC will still get shut out, unless, by some miracle, Florida loses a game between now and January. It could well be the SEC title game against Alabama or LSU.

As of now, USC's title hopes *are* alive, which was NOT the case a month ago.

---

Aside from that, it's pretty obvious who's making the BCS Championship :)

YOUR Football Weekend Preview

Halloween Greetings from LOCKS of the Week. You just read our HALLO-LOCKS of the Week. Now we get the spooky details of the football weekend. It's time for Andrew's WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW:


Happy Halloween everyone. Ahhhhh…Halloween. Kids eating candy…girls out in slutty outfits…its good times. Although, not really a holiday (although I would be all for getting a day off for it) Halloween is really the first signal that Winter is coming. Before you know it, it will be Thanksgiving and then Christmas soon after. I love this time of year…not only because I am going to get a bunch of days off of work over the next two months but also because we are heading for some key November football games.

Yep, this weekend if the first few days of November and we’ve got some great football action to cover. First though…I want to talk about my favorite team, the 49ers. A little over a week ago, they axed their coach…a guy who was widely viewed as a very calm guy and sometimes maybe a little too conservative…mean, the guy wore suits on the sidelines during games for heavens sake. So what does my team do…they replace him with a crazy person.

It came out yesterday that Mike Singletary pulled down his pants last week during halftime and gave with team a tongue lashing with his pants around is ankles. Seriously.

Gotta love the 49ers thinking here. Its like they are running a social experiment with their players. We replace the conservative suit wearing coach midseason and replace him with a pants dropping crazy person and see how they respond. Not sure I’m all in favor of my teams ownership running social experiments with my favorite team but it certainly makes them interesting. I mean, I’m interested in seeing what the outcome of this is. Who wouldn’t be. Unfortunately, the 49ers do not have a game this weekend so there will be no more players sent to the showers mid-game or naked halftime speeches…but on the good side, we do know the 49ers will not lose this weekend..and at least that is something. Now on to the games…

College Football

I noticed while putting in my picks for this weekends college football games that there are a bunch of spreads of 20+ points this week. What happen? We haven’t seen that since about week 3 of the season. I mean, it’s the first weekend of November…can we get a few more competitive games here please? Anyways…there are a few that you should keep an eye on…

Georgia/Florida – I mean, people refer to this game as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party”…you can’t miss that, right? We all remember last years game and the little stunt that Georgia pulled after they scored a TD early in that game. Will that come back to haunt them this year by setting up a Florida team for revenge? I HOPE SO! Should be a good, nasty game in Jacksonville.

Oregon/Cal – I’m not watching this game…so why am I mentioning it? Because I want to make a point. I HATE…I really mean, HATE…the PAC-10 this year. Last week I was all excited to see Texas play Okla St on ABC Saturday afternoon...but NOOOOOOOOOO. We were stuck with UCLA/CAL. Ugh! Seriously? We have be forced to watch these crappy PAC-10 teams when there are so many better games going on in college football. I don’t like it. I HATE you for being so RIDICULOUSLY BAD PAC-10. SCREW YOU AND YOUR CRAPPY GAMES!!! OK…moving along…

Texas/Texas Tech – another BIG BIG-12 GAME OF THE WEEK….and another BIG-12 game that should feature very little defense. Good times. This will be the final game in whats been a fairly brutal stretch for Texas. Watch out though…Texas Tech is at home and took down Oklahoma there last year. I expect texas to get a little post-Halloween scare in this one.

The Pros

Packers/Titans – Surprisingly, I haven’t mentioned the Titans very much this year in the WFP. I mean, they’re only undefeated. I actually gained a little more respect for them with a fairly impressive win on Monday over the Colts. This team, in a strange year with a lot of bad NFL teams, is winning with the ole’ reliable formula…great defense and a good running game. Should be a competitive game for them this week against the Packers. I’m not saying they will get their first loss…but its gotta happen sometime soon, right?

Jets/Bills – You know, I was a little disappointed in my Bills last week (not really “my” Bills). I had bought into them and was giving them the edge to win a fairly weak AFC east. Then they go and lose to the stupid Dolphins. Really Bills? Ugh. Now they seem to be in a dogfight for the division with the Patriots. Ugh. I think they’ll win this week though…with the help of some Brett Favre interceptions. Yay!

Cowboys/Giants – now, this game would be A LOT better if Tony Romo was playing. I mean, then I would at least give the Cowboys a chance winning. With Brad Johnson..not so much. Still, its always fun to watch a Cowboys team that everyone was drooling over at the beginning of the season lose…so even if its not close, this game will be VERY watchable.

Patriots/Colts – last year around this time, when these two teams played each other, they were both 8-0. This year...not so much. Surprisingly, the Patriots are still tied for the lead in the AFC east despite no Brady. Meanwhile, the Colts are getting old fast…really fast. This could be their last stand…a loss and we might not see this team come January. In fact, I’d actually like to see a January with neither of these teams.

Actually, the best game this weekend might be on MNF…Steelers/Redskins. The Steelers have lost 2 games this year…both to NFC East teams. Advantage Redskins. Game is in Washington, DC the night before the election. Have you voted already? I didn’t think so. I have though! Wear it!

Ok…that’s all I got this week. Enjoy the games everyone…and happy Halloween...

Andrew Jacobsen

YOUR Weekend Football Preview

Andrew Jacobsen brings another one of his Weekend Football Previews. I'm sorry for delivering this late, fellas. Busy week. So now, in tardy fashion, is the WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW:

DAMN! This has been a LOOOOONNNNNGGGG week. Seriously, it seems like its been almost a month since I’ve watched any good football action…when really its been only two weeks (not counting last week which was void of any quality college or NFL football games). Since that time, my favorite team fired its head coach, Tom Brady had 8 more knee surgeries, Brett Favre called 3 football teams to tell them how to beat the Packers, Jim Haslett became the best coach in football, PacMan punched 2 more of his body guards, and, apparently, Tony Romo broke his pinkie again. Its just crazy…

Well, in just a few hours the weekend will be here. Before it starts, lets preview the weekend ahead…

College Football Saturday

#6 Oklahoma St/ #1 Texas – once again the #1 team will be tested against another highly ranked opponent…and like the times before, this should be a Texas win. Wow was Texas impressive last week against Missouri…and I hate them for it. Them winning all but finished off my bet for Missouri to win the National Championship. Hey, it was 17-1 odds…come on, give me a break! Plus, who would have guessed Penn. State getting there at the begging of the year?

#7 Georgia/#11 LSU – FINALLY! A good SEC game on CBS. Its only been about a month since they’ve had one of those. This one should be pretty good. BTW…the best quote I heard all week was from Les Miles, who…when asked about that ridiculous hit that referee put on the South Carolina player last weekend in their game against LSU…said “YOU GOTTA WRAP UP! Didn’t wrap up!” Awesome. I hope he wins just because of that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M75sj4Z4Wic

#3 Penn St/ #9 Ohio St – Damn! Again, I’m forced to talk about Ohio State here. Ugh. Well, this actually is an interesting game (maybe the last one in the BIG-10 this year). With a win, Penn State will have the inside track to the national championship game as they will should be heavily favored in every game they play the rest of the year. Still, in the crazy college football world we live in these days, no win is a sure thing…particularly when your head football coach is 135 years old. Seriously, who is coaching this team?

#5 USC/Arizona – Like Penn State, this should really be the final test for USC this year..Arizona, somehow, is actually a pretty decent team. Although, knowing USC, they only lose the games in which they are favored by 30 points or more…so they should win this one easily.

Pro Athletes Sunday

Chargers/Saints in London – I’ve gotta admit, I don’t mind these games played in other countries half way around the world. I really don’t. I mean, I never go to the games anyways and always just watch them on TV, so why would I care where they play the games? They could have these games played in remote regions of Africa and I wouldn’t care. This matchup is actually interesting too.

Bucs/Cowboys – I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I hope the Bucs win this week. Imagine the scene in Dallas next week if that happens? Oh man. What a circus. That might give us our 4^th head coach to be fired this year. Awesome. I’m all for it. BUT…for some reason I think Dallas pulls this one out. Desperate football teams almost always do..particularly when at home…and Dallas is a desperate football team right now.

Giants/Steelers – Ahhhhhhh, some solid afternoon entertainment. Despite both teams having only 1 loss, I’m still…for whatever reason…not really solid on either one. I mean, that could just be because I’m not sold on ANY team this year in the NFL…but I just don’t trust any football team week to week right now.

Of course, we also need to keep an eye on the BUNGLES/TEXANS and REDSKINS/LIONS games this weekend and hopefully the dream of an 0-16 season remains alive. (BTW…I think both those matchups could be closer then people think. Watch out!)

There it is boys and girls…enjoy your weekend.

Andrew Jacobsen

Your Weekend Football Preview

Here we go one more time with LOCKS of the Week Contributor Andrew Jacobsen and his Weekend Football Preview:

Back again…by popular demand…YOUR WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW.

Is it just me or is it starting to feel like Fall now? Halloween is fast approaching. Baseball season is FINALLY winding down. And it was only about 90 degrees in downtown LA yesterday. Yes, Fall is here!...And that means, MORE FOOTBALL!!!


College Football

First off, I want to give props to the BIG-12 for giving us some great matchups this season in college football. Not only did OU and Texas give us the most entertaining game of the year so far last weekend, but we can thank the BIG-12 as a conference for making up for the other conferences sucking it up this year. Seriously? What happen? The SEC isn’t as good this year as in years past. The PAC-10 sucks. The BIG-10 still sucks…ditto for the ACC. The BIG-12 and all its high power offenses have saved us so far. And there are some great BIG-12 matchups in the coming weeks...and this week with…

#16 Kansas/#4 OU – Fresh off their loss to Texas last week, Oklahoma looks to rebound at home against Kansas this weekend…and I think they will. I mean, OU has ONLY beaten Kansas 21 straight times in Oklahoma. Should be an entertaining one…

Also in the BIG-12…

#11 Missouri/#1 Texas – Game of the week here. I’m still pissed at Missouri though. They SHOULD have won last weekend against OK St., but they played flat on offense and got beat at home. Had Missouri won, this game could be between the #1 and #2 or #3 ranked teams in the country. Still, with a win, Missouri could get back into the championship hunt…and Texas would be just ANOTHER #1 team to lose after gaining the top spot.

Ohio St./Michigan St – Usually the biggest game versus a Michigan school for OSU is in November, but this year its Michigan State that should provide the bigger test. Ohio St. hasn’t played a really good football game since before their loss to USC earlier this year. They might have to play their best game of the season to get a win against a pretty good Michigan St team.

Mississippi/Alabama – I’m going to keep mentioning Alabama games here on the preview until they lose. I mean, they are #2 right now…and maybe rightfully so…but I just can’t help but think that they are going to lose very soon. Very, very soon…maybe this weekend. Until they do, I’m going to mention them here because I don’t want to look back and see I missed it.


Pro Football

SD/Buffalo – Does the “west coast teams always lose when playing 1pm east coast games” theory hold up again? Seriously, why can’t teams on the west coast win games on the east coast? Is the time difference that difficult to handle? I don’t get it. Either way, this should be a good one in Buffalo. We’ll see if the pattern of play this season continues for the Chargers in this game…good one week at home, bad the next week on the road.

Dallas/St. Louis – I’m not going to watch any of this game unless its close late…BUT… I’m writing about it because can we PLEASE STOP espn…stop all this Cowboy drama. Listen, I love chaos as much as the next guy and love to watch teams fall apart (as long as they aren’t mine…damn! Too late!) but seriously its too much. You would think the cowboys are 0-6 and not 4-2 listening to all this stuff.

Indy/GB – Probably the most interesting game of the weekend. Both teams have struggled to start the season and both seem like they will be having to fight for a playoff spot come the end of the year. Which team can put it all together and grab a win this weekend? I have no clue…hey, its called football “Preview” not football “predictions”. Should be a fun game though.

Also, two other games of note…PIT/Cincy and DET/HOU. Both games feature the 0-fer Bengals and Lions. Can the winless streak continue for both? I hope so. I mean, I usually don’t wish ill-will on others (ok, yes I do sometimes), but I would LOVE to see a team go 0-16. Wouldn’t that be something? Imagine if they both went 0-15 and then played each other at the end of the season? WOW! Now that would be awesome…but unfortunately not how the schedule is set up. Maybe if they both go 0-16, the NFL could set up a 1 game playoff between the two…winner gets the #1 draft pick. Now, that would REALLY be something.

Done. Enjoy the games and the weekend everyone. Be safe…

Andrew Jacobsen

If I were a football team...

There are four teams remaining in Major League Baseball's Postseason.

Dodgers
Phillies
Rays
Red Sox

If each one was a pro or college football team, who would they be? Post your response below in the comments!

My responses:

The Dodgers are the Miami Dolphins. Seemingly forgotten for 20 years, yet, suddenly upsetting the media darlings in convincing fashion.

The Phillies are the Missouri Tigers. Prolific on offense, and somewhat under the radar. With this team, the scoring comes all at once. Blink, and you're down two scores!

The Rays are the Kansas Jayhawks. A perennially AWFUL team suddenly storming the league. With this team, you wonder when the clock will strike midnight.

The Red Sox are the New England Patriots. They're from the Boston metro, they're gimpy, they may be on their last legs...... but are YOU about to count them out?

A rant against "Southern Cal"

What is with all the East Coasters calling USC "Southern Cal?" It sounds so stupid, hokey, and inaccurate, its gotten downright insipid. Are we really going to confuse The University of Southern California, USC with the University of South Carolina?

Get real, ESPN/ABC/CBS/NBC/Fox/etc. South Carolina is almost Championship Subdivision football compared to the Trojans. It's not like when people think "USC," they think "Ah yes, good ol' South Carolina!" Nobody outside of Lou Holtz would confuse the two.

So when you talk USC, talk "USC" or "SC"... heck even just "Trojans" is ok. NOBODY east of the Rockies calls the USC football team "Southern Cal".

Now let me throw goofy nicknames on other schools, and see how YOU guys like em.

Cal LA FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!
Northern Dame!
Mich!
Bo College!
'Bama!! oops, that's taken.

More NFL thoughts in just a moment...