Thursday, September 28, 2006

NFL Power Rankings - After Week 3

Somewhere between Chris Simms' spleen and Terrell Owens' publicist the NFL made a hard left-hand turn this week. We have teams coming off byes, clubs trying to rebound from heartbreaking divisional losses and the Oakland Raiders. But amidst the madness we have a strong slate this weekend, topped by the Seattle at Chicago showdown Sunday night.

Here are my Week 3 NFL Power Rankings:

1. Indianapolis (3-0) - Reggie Wayne reportedly is going to play on Sunday, and look for him to have a big game. He was 50-50 after the death of his older brother in a car accident. After last season, the Colts are pros when it comes to dealing with off-field drama.

2. Chicago (3-0) - The Bears offensive line has been great in pass blocking (only two sacks) but the running game has sputtered. They're averaging just 2.7 yards per carry and 83 yards per game one season after posting 4.3 and 131.2.

3. Seattle (3-0) - Seattle seeks its first ever 4-0 start. Matt Hasselbeck has gone 6-1 in past seven road starts, with 70 percent completions and 8-0 TD-INT. Seattle has won six of seven against Chicago.

4. Jacksonville (2-1) - The Jaguars spent the early part of the week accusing the Colts of dirty play. What was filthy was that the Jags were 14-0 when leading after one quarter under Jack Del Rio. That was before Sunday.

5. Baltimore (3-0) - The Ravens wins have come against teams with a combined 0-8 record. Baltimore has won five straight at home and are 7-2 in M&T Bank Stadium in October.

5. Cincinnati (3-0) - The Bengals may have the best secondary in the league. They have 57 interceptions and a +29 turnover differential over the course of their last 35 games. They are 20-1 under Marvin Lewis with a +1 or greater turnover differential.

6. Pittsburgh (1-2) - I'm not giving up on them yet, but they are a mess. Their eight giveaways are worst in the league. Also, their run-pass ratio was 34:24 last year, but this year it's dipped to 30:32.

7. San Diego (2-0) - The Chargers will be without both starting safeties. Kiel is smoking dope with DEA agents right now and Bhawoh Jue just had knee surgery. The Chargers are one of two teams allowing less than 50 percent pass completions.

8. Philadelphia (2-1) - Surgical. That's the best way to describe the offense right now. However, the combined record of the teams Philly has played is just 2-7.

10. Denver (2-1) - The Broncos and the Patriots are the only teams with a negative turnover differential and a winning record.

11. Atlanta (2-1) - 87-year-old Morten Andersen won the kicking job over Todd Peterson - who nailed 23-of-25 field goals last year - allegedly because he got better lift on his kicks. Naturally, Anderson's first attempt against New Orleans was blocked.

12. New Orleans (3-0) - Clearly the Saints are poised for a huge letdown game, but their eight-point line against Carolina is inflated. The Saints are 28-22 in road games since 2000. That includes a 5-1 SU and ATS mark in Carolina this millennium.

13. New England (2-1) - Chad Johnson had a lot to say about the Patriots secondary this week. The old Pats wouldn't stand for that. What will the new Pats do?

14. Carolina (1-2) - Dan Morgan is still out, as is Shaun Williams. Left tackle Jordan Gross has been disgusting this year, and center Justin Hartwig still isn't practicing and now RT Todd Fordham isn't practicing.

15. Minnesota (2-1) - The Vikings offense is ranked 27th in red zone efficiency and hasn't scored a touchdown since the fourth quarter of week one. Minnesota should be able to run the ball down the throat of Buffalo's undersized defense.

16. Dallas (1-1) - There's a lot of psychoanalyzing, a lot of image consulting, and a lot of B.S. going on right now. All I know is that I have no sympathy for T.O. - none. In my eyes the guy is a scumbag.

17. New York Giants - The Giants already thin linebacking corps took another hit. Carlos Emmons tore his pectoral muscle and is likely out three to four weeks.

18. St. Louis (2-1) - The Rams are No. 2 in the league in turnover differential (+7) and Marc Bulger is 21-4 as a starter at home. This is a big game for STL because they need to put pressure on Seattle while the Hawks play without Alexander.

19. Washington (1-2) - Stitches on Mark Brunell's elbow have been popping open, causing some pain, so he's iffy for the game on Sunday. I think he plays, but there is pain when he throws. The Skins are the league's most penalized team (30 pen. for 298 yards).

20. Miami (1-2) - Culpepper has already been sacked 15 times for 120 yards. His mobility right now is somewhere between Rosie O'Donnell and Martin Sheen.

21. New York Jets (2-1) - The Brick will get his first taste of Dwight Freeney this weekend. Eric Mangini is 7-2 against Peyton Manning. Mangini was the secondary coach in New England before coming to the Jets.

22. Kansas City (0-2) - The Inflated Line Of The Week runner-up is Kansas City (-7) over San Fran. Left tackle Kyle Turley is aching, meaning more woes for the o-line. The Chiefs are 11-6 SU after a bye.

23. Buffalo (1-2) - The Bills are 21st against the rush - and that's an improvement from last year. They allowed the Jets to go 3-for-3 in the red zone opportunities last week, and surrendered 4.0 ypc to a NY team that doesn't have a strong running game.

24. Arizona (1-2) - Kurt Warner has already fumbled eight times. If John Abraham is back for Atlanta this week that could be serious trouble for the Cardinals. Larry Fitzgerald has six dropped passes this season, and one dropped onsides kick.

25. Tampa Bay (0-3) - Spleenectomy. Ouch.

26. San Francisco (1-2) - The 49ers have been a plucky bunch. What I've liked about the offense is that it hasn't been afraid to take shots up the field. The 49ers have been outscored 58-20 in the first half of their three games.

27. Green Bay (1-2) - The Over/Under on weeks before media bobbleheads are calling out Brett Favre for caring more about the TD pass record than the team is 3.0. The Pack has lost eight straight in Philly.

28. Detroit (0-3) - "The League's Most Improved Team" five years running. They've gone from laughable to pathetic to putrid to horrible to now just awful. Baby steps.

29. Houston (0-3) - Houston's defense has more holes in it than the Mexican border. The Texans are allowing teams to convert 68 percent of their third downs.

30. Cleveland (0-3) - The Browns beat the Raiders 9-7 near the end of last season. Now the Browns have Ted Washington, Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards. They may not have Reuben Droughns, who says he's ready to play but still has a hurt shoulder.

31. Tennessee (0-3) - Jeff Fisher is 9-3 vs. the NFC East and Kerry Collins is 8-3 as a starter against the Cowboys. But most of those wins came when they had good teams around them.

32. Oakland (0-2) - So, Andrew Walter. Sweet. Good luck with that. Who knows, maybe he can be the next Todd Marinovich.

Check Doc's Sports site for daily sports betting articles, NFL Schedules, NFL Odds, and Offshore Betting information.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Barry Bonds Will Play In 2007

Barry Bonds has been on a hot streak recently, has told his agent that he will play in 2007.

His knee is healthy for the first time all season, and it is showing in his play. Although the Giants will not make the playoffs, they played very good this season, and will just miss the playoffs.

Why? Why is he coming back. For a few reasons.

1) He has nothing to loose - his public image cannot can any worse

2) He is only 21 home runs behind Hank Aaron, which he will easily pass assuming he stays healthy. Bonds currently has 26 HR this season.

3) In Bonds career, he has never won a World Series and would love that to happen. The Giants have a legitimate chance to make they playoffs, and on you make the playoffs anything can happen.

Bonds, who is finishing up a five-year, $90 million deal, will have to sign a new contract.

"I have every reason to believe the Giants will contact me as soon as the season ends," Borris told the Times.

The 42-year-old Bonds has 734 home runs -- Aaron's career record is 755 -- and has played significantly better since the All-Star break. He is hitting .382 (34-for-89) with 10 home runs, 26 RBI and 18 walks in his last 28 games and has raised his batting average from .235 to .271 during that stretch.

Did Terrell Owens Attempt Suicide

DALLAS -- Terrell Owens denied a police report he attempted suicide, saying he became groggy after mixing painkillers with supplements.

As if to prove he's doing fine, Owens went from the hospital to catching passes from quarterback Drew Bledsoe within two hours, then proclaimed himself "very capable of going out there and playing on Sunday" -- despite whatever happened Tuesday night and a broken right hand.

Owens said Wednesday the confusion likely stemmed from an empty bottle of pain medication found by his publicist, who was with him at the time and called 911. He said the rest of the pills were in a drawer.

"I was non-responsive when she made that call," Owens said. "She made the call out of her judgment for my well-being."

Appearing in a news conference at team headquarters a few hours after leaving a hospital for what an internal police report described as "a drug overdose," Owens wore workout gear and no bandage on his broken right hand. The star receiver smiled and seemed more amused than peeved at the latest ruckus surrounding him.

Owens, 32, blamed a combination of hydrocodone, a generic form of Vicodin, with all-natural supplements for making him ill.

"It's very unfortunate for it to go from an allergic reaction to a suicide attempt," he said.

Rescue workers arrived at Owens' home around 8 p.m. Tuesday and took him to an emergency room. When word spread, publicist Kim Etheredge said it was an allergic reaction.

But the story shifted Wednesday morning when several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend, later identified as Etheredge, intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated: 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

"I was kind of out of it," Owens said. "I can barely even remember the doctors, much less the police officers asking me questions."

Owens also said that he's "not depressed about anything" and that he should practice Thursday.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage -- leaving a 2-inch scar on top of his hand.

If he doesn't play this Sunday, Owens might still return for the following game -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after helping them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Etheredge also appeared at Owens' news conference, saying she "did not take anything out of his mouth" and that it was unfair for anyone to think Owens would kill himself.

"Terrell has 25 million reasons why he should be alive," she added, referring to the $25 million, three-year contract he signed in March with the Cowboys.

"I'm just upset," Etheredge added. "I feel they take advantage of Terrell. Had this been someone else, this may not have happened."

Dallas police officials declined to comment on Etheredge's denials. "We can't discuss the police report because of privacy laws," said a spokesman, Sgt. Gil Cerda.

Teammates and friends throughout the league rallied to support Owens even before he spoke, with many saying they thought the suicide report might be wrong.

"As soon as I got the news this morning, I had to make my call to make sure everything was OK. You know what? It was," said Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson, a close friend through their rivalry over the best end-zone celebrations.

Former Cowboys star Deion Sanders was with Owens at his home before he went to team headquarters.

"From my understanding, looking at him in the eye as a man and as a big brother, I said `Be straight up with me.' He seems to be OK," Sanders told the NFL Network, where he works as an analyst.

After getting almost strictly Owens-related questions, Cowboys coach Bill Parcells cut off his usual 25-30 minute session after only nine minutes. He ended it by getting up from his chair and saying, "When I find out what the hell is going on, you will know. Until then, I'm not getting interrogated for no reason."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said during his brief news conference that he could only confirm paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

"We looked into it, and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

It is not a crime in Texas to attempt suicide.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

The New Orleans Saints Are For Real

For this first time in over a year, the Saints played a true home game on Monday Night against the Falcons. Despite being heavy underdogs, they played with amazing passion and demolished the Falcons 23-3.

Both offense and defense played well. The Falcons who were off to the best rushing starts in NFL history were held to just over 100 yards. They shut down the Falcons new "college type" offense.

You could fell the magic in the air, on the 4th play of scrimmage, the Saints blocked a punt then Curtis Deloatch fell on it for a touchdown. It was a "story book" begging for the Saints.

The Saints whole season is sold out for the 1st time in history. The crown was chanting "Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?" during the game.

Critics may say the Saints han;t proven themselves. The played the Packers and Browns weeks 1 and 2, and the emotion of returning to New Orleans propelled them to this victory, but quite frankly the New Orleans Saints are for real!

Fantasy Football Surprises And Disappointments

Every year in fantasy football, their are players who don;t quite live up to expectation, and their are players who aren;t even drafted that end up scoring tons of points. Who are they.

Surprises
Donavan McNabb has been amazing, along with his teammate Brian Westbrook. Their offense has been rezitalized this year.

Frank Gore, RB for San Fransico has also been scoring well.

Disappointments
This is pretty easy. Tiki Barber, Larry Johnson, and Sean Alexander. Ans it looks like Alexander will be out a while with a broken foot. 3 of the top 4 running backs and all of they havn't even been average, just horriable stats. Barber and Johnson havn;t found the end zone once, while Alexander has just 2 TD's in 3 games.

Lets not forget about Steve Smith, Randy Moss, and Cadillac Williams, a lot of RB; strugglinf

Monday, September 25, 2006

What Can We Learn From Andre Agassi

The story of Andre Agassi, the professional tennis player, is over. For those of us who were his fans, it is a sad moment. And if you were following Andre's career and life from the beginning, you've had the chance to learn tennis and life lessons.

Andre joined the tour in 1986 when his opponents were players like Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Emilio Sanchez. He won his first title at the age of 17 and was ranked No. 3 in the world by the age of 18.

He reached 3 Grand Slam finals in the years 1990-1991 and lost them all. He finally won the one that he least expected to - Wimbledon.

What can you learn?

Andre didn't allow his early setbacks to become his destiny. He learned painful lessons in those finals and used that experience to become a Grand Slam champion in 1992.

He had to have wrist surgery in 1993 and plummeted in the rankings, because he was unable to play. He started the 1994 US Open as an unseeded player and won the last 3 rounds without losing a set, becoming the first unseeded US Open champion of the modern era.

What can you learn?

If you believe that your current ranking is the measure of how good you are, you won't get very far. Believe in yourself, and focus on your goal.

Andre Agassi won 7 finals in 1995, including the Australian Open, and became the No. 1 player in the world. In 1996 he played the Olympic Games in Atlanta and almost lost to Wayne Ferreira in the quarterfinals.

Wayne was about to serve for the match in the third set at 5-4. But before the time for the changeover was up, Andre jumped from his chair, encouraged himself loudly and kept jumping on the spot while waiting for Wayne to get ready for the serve.

The crowd followed Andre's energy and positive attitude and screamed at the top of their lungs for every point he won. He eventually won the third set 7-5 and went on to win the Olympic gold medal.

What can you learn?

Never give up, control your body language and your attitude. If it happens that you lose the match, lose fighting to the end.

Andre Agassi experienced a big personal crisis, and his tennis results were a disaster for a player of his level. He plunged to No. 141 in the rankings. This was the moment that changed Andre from an excellent tennis player to a legend. He finally discovered that his life's purpose was not just to win 3 Grand Slams and get rich, but something more important - to follow his purpose of being a world class tennis player and a role model for everyone.

Andre began his climb by playing Challenger events and worked incredibly hard on his fitness. He made the biggest one-year jump into the top 10 in the history of the ATP rankings, by climbing from No. 122 to No. 6.

What can you learn?

If you lose your high ranking (or your position), acknowledge the current state of your game and start your comeback with small steps. Only by making steady progress can you gain momentum.

And if you find your life's purpose, you realize that you have only this life to live, so you give your best every day. Andre could have lived an easy life after winning 3 Grand Slams and earning tens of millions of dollars. But would that make him fulfilled and happy? The answer is definitely no.

Andre Agassi's greatest achievement came in 1999. He fought his way to his third Roland Garros final where he faced Andrei Medvedev. In the windy and cold conditions, Medvedev managed much better and won the first two sets 6-1, 6-2 in less than an hour.

But Andre never stopped fighting and never abandoned his courageous style of play. It was as if the gods respected his proud performance and changed the weather to a calm and warm sunny day. From then on Andre was unstoppable. He won the next 3 sets and became only the fifth man to win all four Grand Slams titles in his career.

What can you learn?

Even when everything seems to be against you, keep fighting and stay focused on your goal. Many great achievers have said that their greatest success came just after their biggest defeat.

Andre continued his fantastic career but nevertheless lost some important matches. He was serving for the match in the fifth set of the Wimbledon 2001 semifinal against Patrick Rafter and lost 8-6.

He also lost to Lleyton Hewitt in the San Jose 2002 final after having two match points in the third set tie-break.

He lost arguably the best match of all time in a US Open 2001 quarterfinal to Pete Sampras 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 6-7.

What can you learn?

Even if you are a world-class athlete, you are not perfect. Sometimes you make mistakes, and sometimes the circumstances are against you. Losing an important doesn't mean that you are mentally weak. That happens - it's the nature of the sport. Accepting this as a part of the game frees you from creating limiting beliefs about yourself and about what should and shouldn't happen.

And lastly, Andre Agassi has done an incredible job building his charity foundation and donating money to various charities.

What can you learn?

When you are given special talents, remember that they are not only for you. If you use them to help and serve other people's needs, you will experience your greatest feeling of fulfillment, and you'll receive the greatest rewards.

Andre Agassi is and was a tennis legend. He is also an exceptional person, and there is no doubt that he will continue to share his skills and talents in one way or another, bringing more joy and value to the people following his story.

Tomaz Mencinger shows the players how to make their mind their best ally by teaching them mental tennis tips which you can get through his free newsletter. Find out how to play a winning tennis by visiting http://www.tennismindgame.com.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

NHL 2006 Season Predictions - Northwest

As the NHL season begins year two from its lockout, teams and players are eagerly trying to get ready and make a favorable impression to the rest of the league. This season aims to provide conundrums in terms of victors and loser similar to last year’s winners of Carolina, Edmonton, and Buffalo or the losers of Toronto, Boston, and Vancouver. This update I will tackle the Northwest division in hopes of finding new changes, surprises, and disappointments.

The Calgary Flames have gone from being the worst Canadian team in the past few years to one of the best overall teams in the NHL. Making the playoffs on the back of Miikka Kiprusoff and other notables, the Flames look to make the playoffs yet again this season. Dion Phaneuf, one of the leagues best young defensemen looks to improve this season even more helping an already potent defense including Rhett Warrener, Robyn Regehr, and added depth newcomers such as Andrei Zyuzin. Having potentially one of the best defenses and goalie tandems in the league, it will be a hardship trying to score many points against the Flames. While the defense and goalie situation is almost second to none, there still are concerns with the offense. It’s true that the Flames added Alex Tanguay to the lineup to compliment Jarome Iginla, but besides the first line, the lack of depth will haunt the team some nights. While the team does have notable players such as Kristian Huselius and Daymond Langkow, the team also has underachieving players such as Jamie Lundmark, Jeff Friesen, and Tony Amonte. If these players are able to step their game up this coming season, I can see the Flames winning the division easily. If not, the Flames still should make the playoffs but not potentially where they would like to be at, facing the toughest division in a difficult schedule.

One of the top powerhouses of the NHL during the late 1990s, the Colorado Avalanche look to extend the team’s playoff streak by trying to contend again this year. However, with financial problems, a loss of players, and old age, the Avalanche may not look like the monster of years past. Losing Rob Blake hurt a lot. Yes, he was old and not as productive as during his glory days, but he still was one of the best defensemen in the league and will be missed immensely in Denver. While the Avalanche did add Jordan Leopold to a now mediocre defense, the team did so with the loss of Alex Tanguay, severely hurting the offense. While the team still has notable stars such as Milan Hejduck and Joe Sakic, both, especially in Sakic’s case, are getting older and are on pace for negative margins in terms of productivity. While there are some bright spots in Andrew Brunette, Marek Svatos, and Steve Konowalchuk, there are also many notable underachievers such as Tyler Arnason and Patrice Brisebois. Also with Jose Theodore’s instability, this could be a very tough year for Avalanche fans.

The Edmonton Oilers had a dream playoffs a few months ago, defying all predictions from experts with the team’s amazing run. While some may call this a Cinderella situation, especially with the loss of notables such as Peca, Pronger, and Tarnstrom, I believe the Oilers will have another great season based on chemistry more than anything. Adding some depth players such as Joffrey Lupul, Petr Sykora, and Ladislav Smid I believe this group of younger players will overachieve this year trying to get back to Stanley Cup contention. Having a full year of a true number one goalie in Dwayne Roloson should also help as well. While there are some questions with the defense, I believe any critics are over exaggerating when they say the Oilers have the worst defense core in the NHL. Will it be a problem in some games? It might, but with an excellent offensive core and an underrated goalie, Edmonton should be atop the Northwest division come April.

The Vancouver Canucks surprised many spectators last season in a negative way more than anything. Underachieving to only contend for the ninth spot in the West, the Canucks tried to revamp this off-season trading Todd Bertuzzi to Florida for Roberto Luongo. While this was a slightly better upgrade to the likes of Auld and Coultier, besides in the playoffs, the Canucks have not had many problems accumulating wins to put them in the playoffs. While Luongo could be a better goalie in the playoffs, the team first has to make the postseason before illustrating some playoff competence. With acquiring Luongo, the Canucks were forced to give up star Todd Bertuzzi, who, despite the notorious alteration a few years back, has played an excellent role as a power forward adding both passion and goals. With his absence, along with notables such as Anson Carter, there is little to be optimistic about in terms of offense minus Naslund, the Sedins, and potentially Morrison. In terms of the defensive end, losing Jovanovski, no matter how overrated some critics label him, will hurt. Despite adding Willie Mitchell, with the added losses of Keith Carney and Bryan Allen, there should be a negative impact to the already mediocre defense. With the added problem of facing the toughest division in the Canuck’s schedule, I do not see much optimism for Canuck fans.

The defensive mindset of the Minnesota Wild has altered a bit this off-season which potentially has the positive impact of putting this team back into the playoffs. Adding Pavol Demitra with Marian Gaborik will produce a stealthy pair on both the power play and full strength with each being a good compliment to each other. Along with other notables such a Mark Parrish, the offensive outlook for Minnesota is looking up. In terms of defense, while the Wild did lose some key players such a Kuba, Minnesota did add some depth in Kim Johnsson and Keith Carney. With a favorable amount of depth on both offense and defense along with a goaltender in Manny Fernandez who challenged some of the goaltender stats last season, the Wild has the tools to make the playoffs after some drought.

Final Northwest Results for the 2006-2007 Season (Rank based on Western standings): 3. Edmonton Oilers
7. Calgary Flames
8. Minnesota Wild
11. Colorado Avalanche
13. Vancouver Canucks

Dennis Biray presents advice on all kinds of topics ranging from finance and investing to fitness to sports. For more information email him at dbiray@gmail.com, or to view other articles written by him visit http://www.biraynetworks.co.nr

Al Davis' Old School Isn't Working

Well, it looks like the Oakland Raiders will have another bad year. They have lost their first two games by a combined score of 55-6 and are still looking for their first touchdown. Their starting quarterback was injured and it seems the team is headed down the drain... again. This is becoming too repetitive for a team that once prided itself on victory. The old motto of "Just win, baby" is now "Just lose, baby."

The team had to re-hire coach Art Shell to lead the ship. Shell had some success in the past though destroyed in the playoffs.

The Raiders were once a truly feared football team. They were a perennial Superbowl team. Great players like Ken Stabler, Ted Hendricks, Dave Casper and yes, Art Shell, among many others, led the Raiders to greatness. But something has happened to this once great franchise. Stumbling has become the routine. Disastrous years have become the norm outside of some recent flashes of greatness. What the hell happened? Well, it appears the great owner, the Hall-of-Famer Al Davis, has overstayed his greatness. He was once always ahead of the curve. Now he is way behind it. Move after move has failed. Even good moves- like hiring Jon Gruden as head coach- turned into a disaster as Davis could not get along with Gruden and dumped a coach bringing the team back to greatness. But ego is a terrible thing to hold.

A guy who was like gold in the football world has simply become too intrusive. Davis is nearly 80. It is time to sit back and be a fan, Al. Everyone goes through it eventually. Even formerly intrusive Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has calmed down a bit. In baseball, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, while giving his team an outrageous monetary advantage year after year, has finally backed off his former meddling ways.

The Raiders simply cannot get an elite coach to come to Oakland. The reality is they simply do not want to do it. While some will praise Davis for being a good guy, it is followed up with a refusal to coach under him. Thus, second-tier coaches like Norv Turner, Joe Bugel, Bill Callahan, and a re-hire of Shell become the way. Again, Davis hit gold with Gruden but could not hold on to him. Big boys like Bill Parcells and Marty Schottenheimer publicly stated they would not coach for Davis. Mike Shanahan coached the team a million years ago but was let go in just over a year. The team was not doing well but Shanahan claimed they were in the middle of a total change and needed more time. On top of it there were financial disputes that turned real ugly. To this day Shanahan does not like Davis and his Broncos routinely whip Oakland.

Al Davis will never sell the team. Fine. But it is time to look in the mirror and leave the team alone. It is time to hire a good coach and leave the guy alone. Davis coached the team way back in the 1960's. At this point it would be better to get him on the sidelines and coach instead of being the sniper from above. Back off, Al. You were an excellent football guy for years and deserving of the Hall-of-Fame. But it has passed you by the way it did former greats like Tom Landry and Chuck Knoll. The Raiders can "just win" if you "just back off."

NFL 2006 Week 3 Predictions

Below are my predictions for week 3, winners are bolded.

New York Jets @
Buffalo Bills
Fantasy Football Pick - Chad Pennington

Green Bay @ Detroit Lions
Fantasy Football Pick - Brett Favre

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts
Fantasy Football Pick - Marvin Harrison

Tennessee Titians @ Miami Dolphins
Fantasy Football Pick - Ronnie Brown

Chicago Bears @ Minesota Vikings
Fantasy Football Pick - Mushin Muhammad

Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Fantasy Football Pick - Rudi Johnson

Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Bucks
Fantasy Football Pick - Steve Smith

Washington Redskins @ Houston Texans
Fantasy Football Pick - Clinton Portis

Baltimore Ravens @ Clevland Browns
Fantasy Football Pick - Clevand Defense

St. Louis Rams @ Arizona Cardinals
Fantasy Football Pick - Edgerrin James

Philadelphia Eagles @ San Francisco 49ers
Fantasy Football Pick - Donavan McNabb

New York Giants @ Seattle Seahawks
Fantasy Football Pick - Tiki Barber

Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots
Fantasy Football Pick - New England Defense

My upset special of the week is Clevland over Baltimore. I choose 8 road teams and 5 home teams. My guarentee in the sports betting is to take the Jets, who are given 6 points to Buffalo.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Ryder Cup 2006 - Day 1

Welcome to the Ryder Cup. For the first time in a while, the Europeans are the favored team. Phil Mickelson said "No matter what the world rankings say, I think we'll be the underdog. And hopefully, we'll play like they have." In 2004, Europe dominated the Americans 18½ points to 9½ points.

For the Americans, the hangover will last two years.

"I've been on the wrong end of this celebration the last two times," David Toms said. "I don't know what it is, but we've got to find the right formula."

Europe has won the Ryder Cup four of the last five times, and seven of 10.

As day one of the 2006 Ryder Cup finished, team Europe holds a 5-3 lead over team America. Three of the four morning foursomes were halved. The team of Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald defeated Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk 2 up to give Europe a 2½ to 1½ point lead heading into the fourball event.

In the fourball, team Europe won 2 events, team America won 1 event, and 1 match was halved. Tiger Woods and Jim Fyruk won the only match for the American's today.

Predictions - Obviously this is a long tournament which is still a longs way from being over. The Europeans has a small magin, but I feel this will be a very close Ryder Cup. Which team has better players who perform under pressure . . . Tiger Woods, enough said. USA beats team Europe by a point or two.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Fantasy Football Tips And Tricks

It seems that everyone is doing fantasy football these days. Heres some tips to make your soar to the top of the leader board.

It's no secret, the most important day of your fantasy football league is the draft. If you mess this up you basically have very little chance to win. However, if you draft to perfection you'll probably be successful. The big question is weather you draft the player with the best value or the player at the position that you need. Example, you have 4 wr and 1 rb on your team so far. You see a great WR avilable, but in reality he would be no help to your team because odds are you'll only need 3 WR to starts. Of course you could get the WR just in case of injury or you could trade the player. Below are my 5 tips to make your team unbeatable.

1) Do not miss the draft. If you do this then the computer will pick for you based on there rankings which means your opponents could predict your picks which is a big disadvantage.

2) You must be active. If you never make trades or pick up players you'll never get any of players that were unexpectedly good. Example after week one you could of picked up willy parker or indianapolis defense who were definitely available. If you were active you could of gotten 2 steals.

3) Look at the scoring system of the league. What position does it favor? Default setting are usually 50 pass yard = 1 point, 20 rush or receiving = 1 points, and touchdowns worth 6 points. This favors running backs and is a disadvantage to quarter backs. However other settings could favor QBs. So this means you don't draft players the same way for every league.

4) Make sure you have a quality bench. If you don't then when you have weeks with a lot of players with bye weeks, then you'll probably loose. If you have a bench to just plug in you'll rack up some important wins.

5) Don't give up. Even if you're in last place after a few weeks, a few wins can get you back in the race. The regular season doesn't really matter. Making the playoffs in last position is basically the same as making the playoffs in first place. A standard league has 10-12 teams with the top 4-6 qualifying for the playoffs.