The repository of one hard-boiled egg from the south suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (and the occassional guest-blogger). The ramblings within may or may not offend, shock and awe you, but they are what I (or my guest-bloggers) think.
Matt Kenseth has become the 5th driver in the history of NASCAR to win the first 2 races of the season in the premier series. While there was some rain this time, it was the Bees that made the difference. Other than one bad stop about mid-race, they picked up a lot of spots on pit road, and Matt held off Jeff Gordon at the end.
On to Vegas and a shot at doing what they say can’t be done – start the season 3-for-3.
There’s nothing like going from worst to first in a backup car that had to make an emergency trip back from the shop after being wrecked in last week’s Bud Shootout – Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500, thanks to a couple wrecks, Kevin Harvick (who repaid the favor Matt gave him 2 years ago) and a rain dance.
Looks like I’ll be taking a road trip to Cambridge tomorrow.
This is the last serious betting opportunity of the NFL season. Let’s ignore the disastrous first part of the season and the non-existant second half/playoffs (necessitated by a vig crunch), and gamble on the Su…er, Championship Game That Cannot Be Named™. Unless specified, all of these come from Bodog as of 8:15 am; bets and odds may vary based on when and with whom you plunk down your marker:
Final – Pittsburgh -7 points and -210 to win, under 47 total (the under is the 5-star pick of the day)
First half – Arizona +4 points, under 24 total
1st quarter – Pittsburgh -.5, under 10 total
2nd quarter – Arizona +.5, under 13.5 total
3rd quarter – Pittsburgh -.5, under 10 total
4th quarter – Pittsburgh -.5, under 13 total
Will Arizona score in every quarter – No (-325)
Will Pittsburgh score in every quarter – No (-180)
Will there be a score in the last 3:30 of the game? – No (+125)
What will be the final margin? – Pittsburgh by 7-12 points (4/1)
Who will throw more interceptions? – Kurt Warner (-160)
Will Troy Polamalu have an interception? – Yes (+140)
(Not from Bodog, but courtesy Arthur Balinovsky on Facebook) – What will the White House thermostat be set at for the party? – Under 76 degrees (of course, every fireplace will be going full-tilt)
Does former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich have any professional interest on today’s action? – No (but only because he was also kicked out of his office pool)
All information provided is for entertainment purposes only. NRE and its agents assume no responsibility for any money lost, tax liabilities incurred, court appearances ordered, jail time sentenced, broken bones inflicted, killings suffered, or any other action taken as a result of using this to gamble.
(H/T – Neptunus Lex, who I really need to get on the bloated roll lest a mutual friend come up from Jacksonville to kick my ass)
David M over at The Thunder Run reports that, unlike previous recent years, the NFL will not let the military color guard (this year, the Marines) stay to watch the game after presenting the colors at The Championship Game That Cannot Be Named™. From an e-mail David received from a Marine Mom:
My youngest Marine called me this morning. In the course of the conversation he made mention of being part of the Color Guard for the ceremonies at the Super Bowl. He has been part of other Color Guards at other games and has been able to enjoy the entire game after presenting the Colors. HOWEVER, this will not be the case this time. The 12 man/women color guard will be presenting the Colors and then will be escorted out of the stadium and therefore not allowed to see the game. Steven and the 11 others are quite upset about this and have asked that I see if I could contact someone and have that changed.
David already went to the Tampa Bay Host Committee, who told him that all game-day decisions rest solely with the NFL, and that he should contact Mallory Steinberg (Mallory.Steinberg@NFL.com). As of now, David has not received a response.
I know I don’t have all that many readers, but I humbly ask that you kindly ask the NFL to reconsider their course of action.
Revisions/extensions (7:40 pm 1/23/2009) – David M has an answer from Greg Aiello of the NFL via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:
The members of the Color Guard have always been our guests at a Super Bowl party in a compound on the stadium grounds where they watch the game on big-screen TVs and enjoy food and beverage. That is how we have done it every year.
That last sentence is rather important. The NFL has done it this way for quite a while. Moreover, Florio notes that Aiello states there has been no complaint from the Marine Corps Color Guard, but that the NFL would be talking with theiir military liason.
There’s a further update from Dad29 in the comments that says that the Color Guard will be in the stadium. The relevant portion of the comment (quoting the e-mail he got from the NFL):
Since we had not heard about this directly from the military, we contacted our military liaison for the color guard immediately to discuss the issue. After speaking with our military liaison for the color guard, we will host the members of the color guard (12 people) in the stadium.
The background is this:
The members of the color guard have always been our guests at a Super Bowl party in a compound on the stadium grounds where they watch the game on big-screen TVs and enjoy food and beverage. That is how we have done it every year. The military provides an intra-service color guard as part of our pre-game tribute to the military that also includes the military fly-over of the stadium. Then we arrange a place for the color guard to watch the game along with other pre-game and halftime show participants (more than 2,000 people).
Thank you, NFL.
This bit of good news comes straight from MattKenseth.com. After suffering through a winless year with Chip Bolin as crew chief of the #17 DeWalt Ford driven by Matt Kenseth, Roush Fenway Racing has returned Bolin to the team engineer position and promoted Drew Blickensderfer to the crew chief slot.
Blickensderfer is a very good crew chief. In 2006, he helped guide Danny O’Quinn to the rookie title. In 2007 and the first part of 2008, he and Kenseth teamed for 3 wins, 17 top 5s and an average finish of 10.3 over 28 starts before he switched to Carl Edwards’ Nationwide team. Those two teamed for 7 wins in 19 starts.
As someone who has seen Bolin blow late-race call after late-race call, with the last blown call of putting in only enough gas for 396 miles and change in the Ford 400 costing Kenseth a trip to New York City, I’m very happy. Bolin knows how to build fast race cars, so that part is still good.
I’m still on the road (in fact, I’ll be above the road by kickoff unless the flight’s delayed), so no witty commentary or replays of last week. Besides, I think I blew chunks. No matter; it’s another week of NFL football, and there’s plays to be made.
Green Bay (+1.5) @ Seattle
Detroit @ Minnesota (-13)
Chicago (-3/under 43.5) @ Atlanta
Oakland @ New Orleans (-7/over 47)
Baltimore (+4) @ Indianapolis
Cincinnati @ NY Jets (-9.5)
Carolina (+1.5) @ Tampa Bay
Miami (+3) @ Houston
St. Louis @ Washington (-14)
Jacksonville (+3.5) @ Denver
Philadelphia (-5) @ San Francisco
Dallas @ Arizona (+5.5)
New England @ San Diego (-5)
NY Giants (-8) @ Cleveland
If at first you don’t succeed in busting .500 (29-29-2), try, try again (especially since I need an over/under sweep to snap the 3-4-1 slump I’m in). As always, the point spreads come from Bodog, and if you use these picks to gamble, you didn’t get them from me.
Atlanta (+3.5) @ Green Bay – The Packers have a serious problem stopping the run, and the Falcons have a serious running back.
Chicago (-3.5) @ Detroit – Meet the new GM, same bad players and coaches as the old GM.
Minnesota @ New Orleans (-3.5) – All the Saints have to do is stop the run, and they’ve managed to do that pretty effectively.
Indianapolis @ Houston (+3.5) – What’s with all these 3 1/2-point lines? There’s no place like home.
Tennessee @ Baltimore (+3) – The name of the game is defense. Take the under-33.5.
San Diego (-7) @ Miami – We knew that LT was a good-throwing running back, but who knew Ronnie Brown could throw? No matter; Miami can’t otherwise run, and San Diego knows how to stop trickery.
Kansas City @ Carolina (-10) – I hope you didn’t pick up Larry Johnson after last week’s performance.
Washington @ Philadelphia (-6.5) – There’s no respect for the Redskins. Of course, the return of Brian Westbrook may have something to do with that.
Seattle (+7.5) @ NY Giants – You may like the points, you may want the points, and if you’re scared, you’ll get the points…BUT YOU’RE NOT GONNA NEED ‘EM! There’s too many wideouts in Seahag Green.
Tampa Bay @ Denver (-3.5) – It’s the battle of ex-Al Davis employees. It’s all about the altitude.
New England (-3) @ San Francisco – Ask the Texans what happened to the last team to face the Pats after they lost to the Dolphins.
Buffalo (+1.5) @ Arizona – There’s nothing like playing the weakest division in the NFL to get one rolling.
Cincinnati @ Dallas (-17.5) – What we got here is a failure to communicate.
Pittsburgh @ Jacksonville (-6) – The Injury Discount has become a fire sale. Take the under-37.
It was a dog day afternoon and evening last weekend.
Green Bay 21 (+1) @ Tampa Bay 30 – I should’ve gone with the Stat of the Week.
Minnesota 17 @ Tennessee 30 (-3) – Quote of the Week – “We still have a chance to go 4-12.” – Titans LB Keith Bulluck
Philadelphia 20 (-3) @ Chicago 24 – Who let the dogs out?
Denver 19 @ Kansas City 33 (+10) – I believe I said something about a lack of defense – 198 yards and 2 TDs for Bust-Of-2007 Larry Johnson.
Cleveland 20 @ Cincinnati 12 (-3.5) – And the BenGALS are that weak.
Houston 27 @ Jacksonville 30 (-7-LOSS) – Was I talking about Houston’s nightmare or my overtime nightmare?
Arizona 35 @ NY Jets 56 (-1) – Even I didn’t see this one – 6 TDs on a bum ankle.
San Francisco 17 @ New Orleans 31 (-4.5) – One more point and I would’ve had the ridiculous over.
Atlanta 9 (+7) @ Carolina 24 – The Falcons are back down to Earth.
Buffalo 31 (-8) @ St. Louis 14 – I hope you took my advice to take the younger Trent.
San Diego 28 (-8) @ Oakland 18 – And Al Davis stiffs another head coach.
Washington 26 @ Dallas 24 (-10.5) – I should’ve applied the Dog Premium.
Baltimore 20 (+6-WIN) @ Pittsburgh 23 – I’ll take the winnings for taking the points and ignore the explosion of offense.
Nothing like going 7-6 ATS to get the season record back to .500 at 29-29-2. I won’t mention the over/unders are sinking like a rock to the tune of 3-4-1.
Let’s hope the byes improve the situation of 22-23-2 ATS and 3-3 O/U.
Green Bay (+1) @ Tampa Bay – Stat of the week; Brian Griese is 3-0 against the Pack.
Minnesota @ Tennessee (-3) – Did I mention I love defenses lately?
Philadelphia (-3) @ Chicago – The Bears are DONE!
Denver @ Kansas City (+10) – Given the lack of defense the Broncos have, it’s too many points.
Cleveland @ Cincinnati (-3.5) – The Game of the Weak.
Houston @ Jacksonville (-7) – The nightmare continues.
Arizona @ NY Jets (-1) – Favre is still indestructible.
San Francisco @ New Orleans (-4.5) – Take Dirty Rice over Rice-A-Roni and take the over-48.
Atlanta (+7) @ Carolina – Once again, too many points to give considering the road team has won the last 5.
Buffalo (-8) @ St. Louis – I didn’t know Trent Green was still in the league.
San Diego (-8) @ Oakland – It’s the same old story, same old song and dance.
Washington @ Dallas (-10.5) – The Injury Discount has been applied.
Baltimore (+6) @ Pittsburgh – I’d be surprised if there were more than 6 points scored. Take the under-34.
It was a painful week. Let’s review.
Dallas 27 (-3) @ Green Bay 16 – Everybody else was leaving the game with injuries.
Tampa Bay 27 (+3) @ Chicago 24 – Grease beats alcohol.
Carolina 10 (+3.5) @ Minnesota 20 – Defense still wins games.
Detroit 13 @ San Francisco 31 (-5) – Let’s review the smashing – San Fran beating the Lion Cubs by over 15 – check. Under 47 total points – check. Bad news – Matt Millen is no more.
Kansas City 14 @ Atlanta 38 (-6.5) – 186 yards rushing; yep, the irresistable force ran over the movable object.
Oakland 23 @ Buffalo 24 (-10-LOSS) – OH SO CLOSE!
Houston 12 @ Tennessee 31 (-5.5) – What rude hosts. I sure hope you took advantage
Cincinnati 23 @ NY Giants 26 (-13-LOSS) – At least the over/unders are back to last year’s form.
Arizona 17 (+3) @ Washington 24 – Some days you’re the dog, some days your the milk bone.
Miami 38 @ New England 13 (-13) – While that may not be the real Dolphins, I believe that’s the real Pats sans Brady.
St. Louis 13 (+10) @ Seattle 37 – Real nice for the Seahawks to show up just as I gave up on them </sarcasm>.
New Orleans 32 @ Denver 34 (-6-LOSS) – Inept playcalling from the Saints was, however, required.
Pittsburgh 6 (+3.5) @ Philadelphia 15 – Unfortunately, I took the wrong D.
Jacksonville 23 (+4.5) @ Indianapolis 21 – Tony Dungy is wondering whether the RCA Dome is still open.
Cleveland 10 @ Baltimore 28 (-3) – NewBrowns fans are chanting, “We Want Quinn!”
NY Jets 29 (+8.5) @ San Diego 48 – I should’ve gave the points.
7-9 ATS and 2-0 O/U puts me at a suckitude 22-23-2 ATS and 3-3 O/U. No wonder why I didn’t post much this past week.
I just caught this on JSOnline’s DayWatch from Don Walker…
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Eric Gagne bought 5,000 tickets to tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates and plans to give them away.
“Tonight we’ll be playing one of the most important games in franchise history, and I can think of no better way to thank the fans than giving families an opportunity to pack Miller Park,” Gagne said in a statement released by the team. “No matter what happens over these next four games, I want everyone to know that I think the world of Brewers fans. Three million times they have walked through the gates this year and none of us on the field takes their support for granted. We’re going to have some fun out here, and I know that the atmosphere will be electric.”
Beginning at 3:30 p.m., fans can go to Brewers.com to request up to four tickets. Click on the “Gagne Giveaway” graphic to go to the ticket request page and enter Gagne as the password when prompted.
Fans requesting the complimentary tickets will be subject to a one-time $2 fee for printing their ticket order at home, or a $4 per order fee for picking at Miller Park will call.
Tickets are first come, first served.
Hooray Gagne!
After 7+ seasons, Matt Millen has finally been fired as General Manager of the Detroit Lions!
During his tenure, the Lions were probably the most inept team in professional football. Their record was 53 games below 500 and they had lost at least 9 games in each of the seasons.
This season the Lions started the season 0-3, they’ve given up 113 points and have lost the three games by an average of 18 points.
If someone like Matt Millen, the butt of a innumerable jokes about ineptitude, can be fired what hope is there for your average Weatherman?
Now that I reached the first goal of getting over .500 at 15-14-2 (I’ll ignore the 1-3 against the over/unders), it’s time to start actually making money.
Dallas (-3) @ Green Bay – Take this week for the week Aaron Rodgers goes out for the season. Unfortunately, there’s nobody that’s even semi-competent behind him.
Tampa Bay (+3) @ Chicago – The word of the day is “revenge”.
Carolina (+3.5) @ Minnesota – The Injury Discount is in full effect.
Detroit @ San Francisco (-5) – Can anybody tell me why this isn’t 15? Oh yeah; take the under-47; the Lions aren’t scoring.
Kansas City @ Atlanta (-6.5) – The irresistable force will run over the movable object.
Oakland @ Buffalo (-10) – It may not be snowing, but it’s not going to be fun for the Raiders.
Houston @ Tennessee (-5.5) – The Tennesseeans are glad they’re not in Houston anymore. The Texans only wish they weren’t.
Cincinnati @ NY Giants (-13) – Even though the BenGALs won’t score, take the over-42 as Jimmy Hoffa chants “Sieve!”
Arizona (+3) @ Washington – Give the dog a bone and send your man rolling home.
Miami @ New England (-13) – The Pats showed me something last week.
St. Louis (+10) @ Seattle – How bad is the Seahawks’ offense? Koren Fragging Robinson is back in the league.
New Orleans @ Denver (-6) – No blown calls required this week.
Pittsburgh (+3.5) @ Philadelphia – I like defenses.
Jacksonville (+4.5) @ Indianapolis – Before injuries, this would have been the Game of the Week.
Cleveland @ Baltimore (-3) – Neo is no more.
NY Jets (+8.5) @ San Diego – Given the nature of the Chargers’ losses, if I took them, I’d be giving too many points.
The Bar is no more, the Pub’s in flames after I took a day off, but let’s review the great week it was…
Green Bay 48 (-3) @ Detroit 25 – Had this been Turkey Day, this would’ve been a trap.
Indianapolis 18 (-2.5) @ Minnesota 15 – I might have to rethink my Viqueens as champs call; they’re looking more like the usual chumps.
Chicago 17 @ Carolina 20 (-3-TIE) – “Taketh the home team,” and loseth the vig.
Oakland 23 (+3.5) @ Kansas City 8 – Two picks and eight points is proof of the maxim.
Tennessee 24 @ Cincinnati 7 (pick’em) – More like jump off the bridge after this one; the BenGALS are done.
New Orleans 24 @ Washington 29 (+1) – All of a sudden, I can’t pick the over/unders.
NY Giants 41 (-8.5) @ St. Louis 13 – Baaaa, baaaa bwahahahahahaha!
Buffalo 20 (+4.5) @ Jacksonville 16 – You can’t win if you’re not healthy.
Atlanta 9 (+7) @ Tampa Bay 24 – Sometimes you’re the dog, sometimes you’re the milk bone.
San Francisco 33 (+7) @ Seattle 30 – Nice to see the overtime curse is broken.
Miami 10 @ Arizona 31 (-7) – Booked, and collected
New England 19 @ NY Jets 10 (-1) – And no streaks ended.
San Diego 38 @ Denver 39 (-1-TIE) – Why did you go for two, Mike? It screwed me out of my vig.
Pittsburgh 10 (-6-LOSS) @ Cleveland 6 – And the weather dominated.
Philadelphia 37 (+7-WIN) @ Dallas 41 – Lesson to the wise; do not celebrate on the one.
A nice 9-4-2 week pushes the season to 15-14-2. Unfortunately, the over/unders fell to 1-3.
In the wake of the burn-down of TheWisconsinSportsBar, Peter has set up a new place called The Cheesehead Corner Pub and put out the call for old bartenders. Since I’m one of those, I accepted.
A note for ESK and the rest of the old crew; you will need to set up a free WordPress.com account.
In case you haven’t been over to The Wisconsin Sports Bar yet this afternoon, Chris the head barkeep (and my blogfather) decided to shutter the doors. DAMMIT!
Edit by Shoebox
Yes, it is now official. I believe it’s a few months late, but the drop to a tie with the Phillies, who just swept the Brewers out of the city of Brotherly Love, forced the upper management’s hand.
The bad news – it’s third base coach Dale “Run Them Out Of Big Innings” Sveum instead of ex-bench coach Ted Simmons that’s running things for the remainder of the season.
Last week sucked to the tune of 6-10 ATS and 1-1 O/U, and the hard drive on the desktop is dying. Let’s get this Texan-less week done quickly so you can get some dough.
Green Bay (-3) @ Detroit – Everything screams, “TRAP!” about this game except one thing; it’s not Turkey Day.
Indianapolis (-2.5) @ Minnesota – The rust comes off this week.
Chicago @ Carolina (-3) – Taketh the home team.
Oakland (+3.5) @ Kansas City – Two-headed quarterbacks do not work in the NFL.
Tennessee @ Cincinnati (pick’em) – You’ve got to be kidding me; a Kerry Collins-led team not a road dog? Jump on this one.
New Orleans @ Washington (+1) – I dislike teams with early injuries. Take the under-42.
NY Giants (-8.5) @ St. Louis – The Lambs lay down for everybody.
Buffalo (+4.5) @ Jacksonville – Again, injuries kill. Mental note; find a replacement for Mo-Jo.
Atlanta (+7) @ Tampa Bay – You may like the points, you may want the points, and any honest bookie will give you the points, BUT YOU’RE NOT GONNA NEED THEM! Hotlanta’s suddenly a big-play team, and the Bucs are a big-play-giving team. Take the over-37.5.
San Francisco (+7) @ Seattle – This is your Game of the Weak.
Miami @ Arizona (-7) – The Cards will have to overcome the Egg Appearance Curse, but since it’s the Dolphins, book it!
New England @ NY Jets (-1) – All streaks come to an end…except Brett Favre’s.
San Diego @ Denver (-1) – Injury Discount comes into play again.
Pittsburgh (-6) @ Cleveland – The dominance will continue unabated.
Philadelphia (+7) @ Dallas – Philly’s too stout for this kind of beatdown by the bookies.
Did I mention that the hardest week in the NFL season to predict is the first? Let’s go over the carnage.
Washington 7 @ NY Giants 16 (-4.5) – That’s how to start the season. Time to break out the old pre-Alvarez Badger chant – I WON FIRST!
Cincinnati 10 (-2) @ Baltimore 17 – Also not recommended; QBs with broken noses.
NY Jets 20 (-3) @ Miami 14 – Please welcome your division-leading New York Bretts.
Kansas City 10 @ New England 17 (-17-LOSS) – Welcome to Super Loser Curse, Brady.
Houston 17 (+6.5) @ Pittsburgh 38 – Ow; my knee! I’m sending the bill to Gary Kubiak for being stupid and having no defense.
Jacksonville 10 (-3) @ Tennesse 17 – Yep; it’s hurting a lot. At least Guido’s working over the same knees Knock-Knees Tony did for the playoffs.
Detroit 21 (-3) @ Atlanta 34 – How bad are Duh Lions? Fox announcers are already calling for heads to roll. At least I got the over right to salvage a split.
Seattle 10 (+1) @ Buffalo 34 – The Seahags looked like The Walrus retired a year early.
Tampa Bay 20 @ New Orleans 24 (-3.5) – It’s all about the turnovers creating emotion.
St. Louis 3 (+7.5) @ Philadelphia 38 – Mental note; see if the Eagles’ defense is still available in my fantasy leagues.
Dallas 28 (-6) @ Cleveland 10 – Wiggy and Owen are quite happy with this result.
Carolina 26 (+9) @ San Diego 24 – I had the right state for the barking dog, just the wrong town.
Arizona 23 @ San Francisco 13 (+2.5) – Turnovers kill.
Chicago 29 @ Indianapolis 13 (-10) – Yep; it was over at halftime. Only thing is, that Bears’ D still has bite.
Minnesota 19 (+2) @ Green Bay 24 – At least I told you to not take the Aaron Rodgers Won’t Make It Through Game 1 prop bet.
Denver 41 (-3) @ Oakland 14 – How bad was this week? I whiffed on the JaMarcus Russel INT total.
Owie-stingie. 6-10 ATS, 8-8 straight-up, 1-1 over/unders leave Guido hunting my sorry ass down. Worse, I owe Uncle Fred because dumbshit me took the donkey with a broken nose instead of the Ragin’ Cajun who pulled off the Upset of the Week™.
Here we go again. For those of you who don’t feel like sacrificing the big screen, Ustream’s carrying the St. Paul stuff…
Friends, Degenerates, Countrymen – get out those wallets! The hardest week of the easiest money (or at least broken bones) you’ll ever earn is upon us. Since I managed to off Knock-Knees Tony after a disastrous post-season, I’m back for another season of fun and mayhem to defend my 123-120-13 regular-season record ATS and 20-13-1 performance on the over/unders. As always, the lines are provided by our friends at Bodog, the team I’m taking will have the line next to it, and I will disavow any knowledge of you should you use these picks (especially my 2-a-week over/unders).
Washington @ NY Giants (-4.5) – Jim Zorn has a better chance against the G-Men than Jason Campbell.
Cincinnati (-2) @ Baltimore – Rookie QBs are not recommended.
NY Jets (-3) @ Miami – Dare I say it? DARE I SAY IT? Not yet.
Kansas City @ New England (-17; currently off Bodog’s board) – Welcome to Mismatch Central. Don’t worry about the “injured” right foot on Brady.
Houston (+6.5) @ Pittsburgh – Let there be HITS! Take the under-43 to give The Man a feel for this game.
Jacksonville (-3) @ Tennesse – This won’t hurt a bit; it’s going to hurt a lot.
Detroit (-3) @ Atlanta – If you’re looking for defense, this isn’t the game for you. I know we have another rookie QB, but take the over-41 in the Mistake of the Week™.
Seattle (+1) @ Buffalo – It’s too early in the season for Holmgren to start losing.
Tampa Bay @ New Orleans (-3.5) – This early in the season, it’s all about the emotion.
St. Louis (+7.5) @ Philadelphia – The Rams are too healthy to be giving up this many points.
Dallas (-6) @ Cleveland – I’m trying so hard to avoid “Matrix” references.
Carolina (+9) @ San Diego – If I were convinced the Chargers’ Big 3 were 100%, I’d gladly give the points.
Arizona @ San Francisco (+2.5) – It’s a Dog Day Afternoon and Kurt Warner’s wearing Milk Bone underwear.
Chicago @ Indianapolis (-10) – It doesn’t matter whether it’s Orton or Grossman at QB; this one will be over by halftime.
Minnesota (+2) @ Green Bay – I know it’s real tempting to take the prop bet that Aaron Rodgers won’t finish this game. DON’T DO IT!
Denver (-3) @ Oakland – Over/under on the number of Bronco picks of Russell – 2.5. Take the over.
Asok opened up the season prediction pool over at The Wisconsin Sports Bar. Since I still have a key there, I’ll repost my no-study predictions for the season here:
NFC North
Minnesota (Good – Adrian Peterson is enough in this division. Bad – If an opposing team can figure out how to tackle AP, the Vikes are done. Record – 9-7)
Chicago (Good – They still have a special special team, and the aging defense should have a few stops left in them. Bad – That defense is aged, and the disappearance of Brett Favre from the division won’t mean they’ll go through fewer QBs than Green Bay. Record – 7-9)
Green Bay (Good – As long as injuries and tall physical receivers don’t hit the defense, they’ll be able to stop people. Bad – There will be 8 people crowding the offensive line almost every down, and the departure of Favre means they’ll be going through as many QBs as the Bears. Record – 5-11)
Detroit – (Good – I honestly can’t think of any. Bad – They’re still run by Matt Millen. Record – 3-13)
NFC East
Dallas
Philadelphia (wild card)
NY Giants (wild card)
Washington
NFC South
Carolina (by a tiebreaker)
New Orleans
Tampa Bay
Atlanta
NFC West
Seattle
Arizona
San Francisco
St. Louis
AFC North
Pittsburgh
Baltimore (wild card)
Cleveland
Cincinnati
AFC East
NY Jets
New England (wild card; do not overlook the Super Loser Curse)
Buffalo
Miami
AFC South
Jacksonville
Indianapolis
Tennessee
Houston
AFC West
San Diego
Denver
Oakland
Kansas City
Bonus nose pick – Jacksonville over Dallas in The Championship Game That Cannot Be Named.
Cross-posted at TheWisconsinSportsBar.
The NFL has confirmed an NFL Network report that it received a request from Brett Favre for reinstatement. Once Commissioner Roger Goodell approves the request, the Packers will have but 24 hours to reinstate him, complete a trade, or give him his outright release. Unless Goodell dwaddles, which I cannot discount, I expect that approval to happen tomorrow, with the reinstate/trade/release clock running out on Thursday.
The problem with the trade third is nobody outside the NFC North, where Ted Thompson desperately doesn’t want to see Favre end up, is willing to give up a third-rounder plus a defensive tackle for a diva whose current contract is for $12 million this year, $13 million next year and $14 million in 2010. This is despite reports of Goodell’s involvement in trade talks.
If the trade talks continue to sputter, I expect Thompson to “reinstate” Favre and promptly find a way to keep him off the active roster and out of training camp in order to preserve his lifelong dream of being the guy who retired Favre. That is likely to result in a grievance.
Barring the miracle trade, this one’s going to get even uglier.
Revisions/extensions (4:44 pm 7/30/2008) – The Green Bay Press-Gazette has a couple of more developments:
– Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy met with both Favre and agent James “Bus” Cook today, and during a short break, Cook said things “were going well”.
– The NFL announced that it would not take action on Favre’s reinstatement letter today to allow the team and Favre more time for the two sides to work out a solution.
Revisions/extensions part 2 (12:21 pm 7/25/2008) – Re-bumped to the top. There are a couple of notes:
– As of 12:09 pm, there are only 20 game tickets left on this deal. The Milwaukee Brewers ticket office only has single-seat tickets in higher-priced locations (starting at $18) and standing-room-only tickets ($17 per) left for tomorrow night’s game.
– The Hot Air Tour portion has been moved to AFP-WI’s parking lot, 1126 S. 70th St. in West Allis. That will start at 1:30 pm, with the Taxpayer Tailgate, still in Miller Park’s Mets parking lot, starting at 3 pm.
Revisions/extensions (1:07 pm 7/19/2008) – Bumped back to the top (originally posted on July 9 at 11:45 am)
Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin is bringing the Hot Air Tour to Milwaukee as part of its 2nd annual Taxpayer Tailgate on Saturday, July 26. Both the tailgate and the Hot Air Tour begin at 1:30 pm, with the game starting at 6.
Tickets to the triple-package deal are $21, tickets to the tailgate and Hot Air Tour are $10, and tickets to just the Hot Air Tour are free. Do click the pic to register.
The Milwaukee Brewers and the Miller Park District, just like the Nashville Parks Department before them, bowed to the PC Gorebal “Warming” crowd and pulled the previously-approved permits to tether the Hot Air Tour balloon in Miller Park’s parking lot. Undeterred, Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin will be holding the Hot Air Tour in the parking lot of AFP-WI, 1126 S. 70th St. in West Allis at 1:30 pm. We’re still on for the 2nd annual Taxpayer Tailgate in the parking lot at 3 pm, and the game at 6.
The balloon banned from Nashville and Milwaukee
Do click on the balloon (or here) to register if you haven’t already done so. The triple-play (the Hot Air Tour, the Taxpayer Tailgate and a game ticket) is $21, the Tour/Tailgate combo is $10, and the Tour is free (and now without even the cost of parking at Miller Park).
Scheduled to speak at the Hot Air Tour are:
– Vicki McKenna, WISN & WIBA
– Congressman James Sensenbrenner
– Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker
– State Representative and former WTMJ meteorologist Jim Ott
– AFP-WI State Director Mark Block
– AFP Director of Communcations Annie Patnaude
– Phil Williamson, Fight Back Wisconsin
One more housekeeping item; those of you who haven’t already done so, sign Phil Williamson’s petition to drill and refine in this country.
Also on the case – Owen and Capt. Karl.
[No Runny Eggs is proudly powered by WordPress.]
