Tuesday, November 11, 2008

We've moved!

Hope you don't mind, but this blog has moved to a new location ... greatestprobowlsever.wordpress.com.

That link again ... http://greatestprobowlsever.wordpress.com/. For a good time, copy and paste that into your URL field on your Internets browser.

Friday, November 7, 2008

NFL Week 10 picks

Due to weather constraints (it's freakin' nice outside and Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff wants to go outside and play), the Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCSTM rankings will not take place and will return next ... we promise.

Here is this week's attempt to correctly predict the outcome of pro football games ...

Week 10 picks

Broncos over Browns (nailed it!)
Packers over Vikings
Patriots over Bills
Titans over Bears
Saints over Falcons
Jets over Rams
Jaguars over Lions
Dolphins over Seahawks
Ravens over Texans
Panthers over Raiders
Steelers over Colts
Chargers over Chiefs
Giants over Eagles
Cardinals over 49ers

Week 9 record: 7-7
Overall record: 79-53

This week's college football picks: Another big one in the Big 12

"Come after me! I'm a man! I'm 40!" -- Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy's, during his rant for the ages after a win, yes a win, over Texas Tech last September.

Fresh off its scintillating, edge-of-your-seat 39-33 win over then-No. 1 Texas, Tech Tech gets another huge Big 12 showdown when the No. 8-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys come to Lubbock.

Now sitting at No. 2, Texas Tech is in position to reach the national championship game. Of course, the Red Raiders will have to circumnavigate (great word, eh?) a remaining schedule that also includes games against Oklahoma (in Norman) and a potential spot in the Big 12 title game.

That is just one of a handful of big games to look forward to this college football weekend. So, let's go ahead and pick some of those games ...

No. 2 Texas Tech over No. 8 Oklahoma State
No. 3 Penn State over Iowa
No. 5 Wisconsin-Whitewater over Wisconsin-Stout
No. 7 USC over No. 21 Cal
No. 22 Georgia Tech over No. 19 North Carolina

Upset pick of the week: No. 15 LSU over No. 1 Alabama. The Tigers would love to stick it to their old coach, Nick Saban, and ruin the Crimson Tide's national title hopes. Nobody gets through the SEC season undefeated, so Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff thinks this is an easy pick to make.

And our totally random college football pick of the week: No. 1 Mount Union faces No. 12 Otterbein in a huge D-III showdown with first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference on the line. Otterbein hasn't beaten Mount Union since 1977, and Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff doesn't anticipate that run coming to an end this year.

(For the record, last week Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff correctly predicted that Millsaps would get some amount of vengeance for last year's "Lateralpalooza" play against Trinity. And, they did! Millsaps pasted Trinity 56-27.)

Last week's record: 1-6 (only hit on the "Totally random" pick)
Overall record: 43-28

Monday, November 3, 2008

Kevin Garnett plays soccer, and that's newsworthy because ...

"I don't have striker's skills. I just want the liberty of not only passing the ball but also the liberty of shooting the ball, or at least trying to be a striker." -- Kevin Garnett, on playing soccer.

Two and one half years ago, a very fun What if our greatest athletes played soccer? piece was written for FOXSports.com ahead of World Cup 2006, an international sporting event of epic proportions.

Turns out, this very intelligent writer was ahead of the curve.

On a "Dream Team" comprised totally of star athletes outside soccer, Kevin Garnett manned the goalkeeper position.

That was in make-believe happyland. In the real world, Garnett plays hoops but has taken up soccer as a form of cross training to prepare for play in the lesser sport of basketball.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Saturday Afternoon Pro Football Banter: Breaking news ... some big games this weekend

"They are still the Dallas Cowboys. Everybody hates everybody in this league. This rivalry has gotten even more intense. They have been titled America’s Team, and they are coming to the Big Apple. So it should be fun.” -- Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, on the Giants' opponent on Sunday.

The storyline is pretty simple here: Two losses in the last three games has the preseason Super Bowl favorite Cowboys at 5-3 and looking up at the defending Super Bowl champion Giants, who lead the NFC East at 6-1. Another loss for Dallas would be devastating for the team's division title hopes.

Yup, devastating. Especially considerin the relative strength of all the teams in the NFC East, the best division in professional football.

This isn't the only game America will be watching with great interest. Take, for instance, that big Monday night showdown in Landover, Md., where the Redskins hold the fate of America in their hands when they host the Steelers.

Before 2004, the Redskins had played a strange part in predicting the outcome of 15 straight U.S. presidential elections. When the Redskins lost their last home game prior to the election, the incumbent party also lost the White House. That streak came to an end in 2004, when the Packers beat the Redskins and two days later incumbent George W. Bush beat John Kerry in the election. Still, 15 of 16 elections have been correctly predicted by Redskins games. Think Obama will be rooting for the Steelers on Monday night?

Speaking of the Redskins and Steelers, these two teams are among the biggest movers in this week's Just-Totally-Made-Up NFL BCSTM rankings.

Let's check 'em out!

1. Tennessee Titans (Previously: 1) -- Some are already trying to break down possible Giants-Titans matchups for Super Bowl XLIII.

2. New York Giants (Previously: 2) -- Could really bury a bitter division rival with a win at the Meadowlands on Sunday.

3. Washington Redskins (Previously: 6) -- May just have to take one for America on Monday night.

4. Carolina Panthers (Previously: 8) -- Come out of this week's bye with games against the Raiders and Lions.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (Previously: 3) -- May have Obama in their corner on Monday night.

6. New England Patriots (Previously: 9) -- Still have that look of the team to beat in the AFC East.

7. Buffalo Bills (Previously: 4) -- Which is the real Bills team? The one that opened the season 4-0? Or, the one that has gone 1-2 in its last three games?

8. Arizona Cardinals (Previously: 5) -- Kurt Warner going back to where all the magic began back in 1999.

9. Dallas Cowboys (Previously: NR) -- Terrell Owens appears on the brink of an explosion. Stay tuned ...

10. Chicago Bears (Previously: 10) -- Really happy to have picked up Kyle Orton a few weeks ago for the fantasy team.

11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Previously: 7) -- Still not sure what to think of this team, especially after last week's disappointing showing in Dallas.

12. Green Bay Packers (Previously: 12) -- Will knock off undefeated Titans on Sunday (please see predictions below).

Teams in danger of relegation if the NFL were like European soccer ...

30. Kansas City Chiefs -- Over there last 16 games, the Chiefs have lost 15.

31. Detroit Lions -- Over the last 15 games, the Lions have lost 14.

32. Cincinnati Bengals -- Remember that time when the Bengals won the AFC North and made the playoffs? That wasn't really all that long ago.

Week 9 picks

Bills over Jets
Bears over Lions
Jaguars over Bengals
Browns over Ravens
Buccaneers over Chiefs
Vikings over Texans
Cardinals over Rams
Packers over Titans
Broncos over Dolphins
Giants over Cowboys
Falcons over Raiders
Eagles over Seahawks
Patriots over Colts
Redskins over Steelers

Week 8 record: 8-6
Overall record: 72-44