CVGT 1st Rd: #7 Out Run vs #10 Shinobi

All right folks... here's our first round matchup:

#7 Out Run

OutRun (Arcade) Full Completion

vs

#10 Shinobi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f8nonuK0RA

Make your pick tonight! We'll post our second matchup later this evening.

The CLASSIC VIDEO GAMES Bracket Tournament

In honor of March Madness this year, I drafted a "Classic Video Games" Tournament Bracket this year (1976-1991). You can vote on each team to advance as we post the matchups each day. Here are the seedings for the tournament this year:

Classic Video Games Tournament Bracket, Link.

You'll have to zoom in some to see the brackets. Here are the seedings in question:

Atari Region

1. Asteroids
16. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial

8. Road Blasters
9. Marble Madness

5. Star Wars
12. Battle Zone

4. Tempest
13. Pong

6. Pitfall
11. S.T.U.N. Runner

3. Space Invaders
14. Breakout

7. Missile Command
10. Paperboy

2. Centipede
15. Food Fight


Nintendo Region

1. Super Mario Bros. 3
16. Double Dribble

8. Duck Tales
9. Tetris

5. Mega Man 2
12. Contra

4. Metroid
13. Castlevania

6. Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!
11. Blades of Steel

3. Super Mario Bros.
14. Final Fantasy

7. Super Tecmo Bowl
10. Bubble Bobble

2. Legend of Zelda
15. Kid Icarus


Namco Region

1. Pac Man
16. Mappy

8. Joust
9. Galaxian

5. Defender
12. Bosconian

4. Ms. Pac Man
13. Xevious

6. Pole Position
11. Rally-X

3. Donkey Kong (Arcade)
14. Burger Time

7. Dig Dug
10. Robotron 2084

2. Galaga
15. Berzerk


Sega Region

1. Sonic the Hedgehog
16. Mr. Do!

8. After Burner
9. Golden Axe

5. T.M.N.T. (Arcade)
12. Michael Jackson's Moonwalker

4. Frogger
13. Dragon's Lair

6. Q-Bert
11. Rampage

3. Street Fighter II
14. Zaxxon

7. Out Run
10. Shinobi

2.The Simpsons (Arcade)
15. Smash TV


***

So! First things first. Were there any glaring omissions? Was anyone seeded too high? Next week we'll open up voting for each of the matchups and go day by day... probably a few at a time. So with that said, fire away, folks.

800 Degrees Pizza -- Best Pizza in Los Angeles

I have to break the silence.



A few months ago, I saw a new pizzeria open up on Lindbrook and Westwood, near UCLA. It was called "800 Degrees" and I passed by it every day on the bus ride to work. Every day I'd say "Oh here we go, with another gimmicky pizza joint. All fluff no substance."

Then, a month ago I gave it a try for myself, and it is nothing short of amazing! What separates this place from other Pizzerias that came before it, even great ones like Lamonica's nearby on Galey Ave., or D'Amore's Pizza Connection literally around the corner?

First of all, their crust is second to none. Even Lamonica's comes out a little thick. This pizzeria is the truest Neapolitan style crust I've seen and tasted in town. As a result, the pizza will come out a little soft, but always ask for it to be crispy and it'll come out wonderfully.

Secondly, the topping selection has the freshest ingredients of the highest quality. Papa John's has long claimed fresher ingredients, but they're still standard grade, typical quality ingredients found in most cheap delivery outlets. 800 Degrees offers the finest pepperoni, the most authentic olives, the freshest sausage, and my favorite, this incredibly crispy yet juicy bacon that I tried last night. All of their toppings are top notch. I almost forgot to mention that the mere fact they use Fresh Mozzarella is a TREMENDOUS selling point. So few pizzerias go this route, and I appreciate fresh mozza whenever I can find it.

Lastly, the service is terrific. 800 Degrees operates akin to a Subway or Chipotle: at each stage of the pizza's construction, items can be added or subtracted as desired. In addition, service is quick, efficient, and surprisingly, the pizza cooks in 5 minutes.

It's been said on other blogs, but 800 Degrees is also one of a rare assortment of restaurants that offers a Coca Cola Freestyle Machine, which offers hundreds of varations of soft drink flavors. It's a tremendous experience from top to bottom. If that's not enough for ya, try their small gelato bar after your meal.

I can't say enough good things about 800 Degrees. Perhaps, their lack of delivery service is a knock for some, but I feel like that would take away from their other fine elements of production. As it stands, 800 Degrees is my favorite pizzeria on the Westside of LA, and that's in a region that features Bravo, Lamonica's, Joe's, Vito's, and a number of wonderful thin-crust pizza restaurants west of La Cienega Blvd.

Hopefully others will agree that 800 Degrees is the best thing to happen to Local Pizza since the Village opened way back when.

Dave's SUPER BOWL Lock of the Week

First of all, I profusely apologize! I didn't post the Championship Round LOCKS of the Week, and both of those hit, putting me at 2-0. I picked Baltimore +7.5 and went Giants +2.5. Bing bang BOOM!

Now then, to the Super Bowl's

LOCK (clank!)
of the Week (slam!)

Let's do this thing: The Pats and Giants will meet in Indianapolis for what could be a race down the field for both teams. Many have predicted this will be a low scoring game, but I'm going the other way. I think this will be a very high scoring game with at least one team in the 30's if not both teams. It may well prove to be one of the highest scoring Super Bowls in league history.

Both teams feature a flawed secondary, although I admit the Giants have doing much better with pass coverage. The Patriots and Giants both have very good quarterbacks, no advantage there. However, the Giants have New England beat with skill players. Not only does New England have only one reliable option (Ron Gronkowski), but said option is far from healthy with a high ankle sprain.

To counter, the Giants feature three darn good receiver options: Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, and Victor Cruz. All three of these receivers have shown good speed, and once they catch the ball, any seam will send them flying.

Rushing: Neither team runs the ball all that well, but I think the Giants possess more upside with Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. Both running backs have had monster performances at one time or another.

Special Teams: This is even. No longer are the Giants plagued by the error of Matt Dodge, once their punter. Both teams can kick field goals about the same distance. Both teams have reasonably good return teams. Both teams have no standout facet of their return coverage.

Defense: This is where the Giants start to really pull away from the Pats. Their front four, including Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre Paul, and Osi Umenyiora. Lately, that's been a fearsome foursome -- the kind of group that would give any quarterback fits. I see Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady as no exception. Expect this front four to tear him apart, as a similar group did four years ago for Big Blue in the Super Bowl.

In short, I have a good feeling about this game, and I select the NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS to pick up the points and win the game outright. Giants for the win.

And that's it for our final

Dave (snap)
LOCK (blam!)
of the Week (boink)

We'll do it again next year. Thanks for reading along all season long!

Dave's DIVISONAL LOCKS of the Week

Dave's (crash!)
LOCKS (smash!)
of the Week (bash!)

2-2 last week in Wild Card LOCKS (fantastic results for me), so on to the Divisional round:

Three picks to select, one omitted out of respect for my friends who are Giants and Packers fans. Here we go!

In SAN FRANCISCO, I'd hate to do this to SF, but I have no choice but to take the 49ers +3.5. The odds of winning are too good to pass up, but thankfully that also allows for SF to lose by a field goal. Niners to strike gold and make this a tight game at the Stick!

In FOXBORO, I'm going Broncos +13.5 . I have less than zero confidence in the Broncos actually winning the game, but I'll root for the Tebow Nation just the same and expect them to be within two touchdowns at game's end.

and

In BALTIMORE, I have Texans +7.5, making the pick with 50% confidence. I would have taken the Ravens with any line less than 7 points, but with the sportsbooks placing the spread above 7, I'm going conservative and taking Houston. I just don't feel like this will actually hit. It's Joe Flacco's first career home playoff game, and if Ray Rice gets any kind of seam, he's going to destroy the Texans' defense. On the flip side, the Ravens have the 2nd best rush defense in the NFL and won't give an inch to either Foster or Tate from the Texans' backfield. Despite all this, I think it will be a relatively low scoring affair with Baltimore winning a close one. Possibly 27-21 as a final score.

That's the Divisional Round for

Dave's (bang!)
LOCKS (snap!)
of the Week (crunch!)

Your picks are: SF +3.5, Den +13.5, HOU +7.5

I can already hear Admiral Ackbar yelling "It's a TRAP!!! It's a TRAP!!!!"

Dave's NFL WILD CARDS of the Week

I couldn't go the week without posting...

Dave's (blam!)
WILD CARDS (clank!)
of the Week (snap!)

Let's do this... Four Games, four mediocre to good teams... onward.

First, in Houston, I'm going Bungles to cover +3 and take the game outright. Upset City!

Next, in the Big Easy of New Orleans, I have the Saints -10.5 in a landslide. In fact, I'm also taking the OVER of 59.0 points. It's going to be a laugher, gents.

Next, in New Jersey, I'm going Falcons to take +3 at the Giants. Two unpredictable teams, but also a situation where the G-Men are expected to win. You know what that means... those mental minded Big Blue will lay an egg.

Lastly, we go to Denver, where the only thing high right now is the altitude for the game. The Broncos have hit on very hard times, and rumors circulated that Brady Quinn could take Tebow's place at quarterback if the game gets out of hand. In light of this, I'm still picking Denver +9.0 in a reasonably low scoring game.

There's your Wild Card picks. Enjoy the games, all.

How about an NBA Prediction for ya?

Dave's
NBA (slam!)
of the Week

I don't do NBA Picks all the time, but quickly, here's how I see the Knicks/Lakers game tomorrow.

I see orange, I see blue, I see the Knicks winning on the road. The Knicks were just pounded last night by the Golden State Warriors in Oakland. Meanwhile, the weary Lakers, coming off an idle day, are still in the midst of 6 games in 8 days. This is also a team, the Lakers, that is learning a new system and integrating new players like Josh McRoberts, Troy Murphy, and others.

The Knicks have some new personnel also, but I feel like they're more ready for this game than LA would be. Despite they being the team of rooting interest, I'm picking the Knicks to beat LA and score in the 100's Thursday night at Staples.

Panic not, Laker fans, it is still a long season. But yes, be prepared for some Orange and Blue to come out with a W.

More picks to come here on this Blog Network..!

--Dave