Thanks to losses by the Bucs and Cowboys, the Falcons now control their own destiny. Win today against the Vikings, and the Falcons clinch a Wild Card spot.
Go Falcons!
Win and they are in!
Month: December 2008
The spread helps keep the Bowls entertaining.
First off, I do not actually bet. Still a virgin in this regard. Second, there are so many Bowl games (30+) that it is rather silly. Finally, as much as I love college football, I figured I needed to do something to keep my interest in all the minor crap that goes on three weeks before Oklahoma lays a turd against Florida.
- Thanks to a last minute touchdown, Wake Forest covered against Navy.
- I squeaked by in my bold prediction (sarcasm folks) that Fresno St. would need more than three against Colorado St.
- I was spot on running with the South Florida Bulls and the 12 points they had to lay against Memphis.
- I was also correct with my Arizona pick over BYU. Can you believe that the media went crazy earlier in the season with BYU National Championship talk?
So I am off to a nice 4-0 (against the spread) start to the Bowl season. Happy me!
Vikings, Rams, Playoffs.
Thanks to the Ravens taking down the Cowboys last night 33-24, the Falcons path to the playoffs is clear. With wins today at Minnesota and Christmas weekend at home against the Rams, the Falcons will be in the post season for the first time since 2004.
The Falcons are still getting 3 today, which means that Vegas thinks this one is a toss up, but the Vikings get a field goal for being at home. I have to like Atlanta’s chances because they should be able to at least contain the Vikings running game. If that happens, and Atlanta can establish Ryan-to-White early, this one should come out smelling roses.
Just to be on the safe side, today I am still pulling for the Chargers, Redskins, and Giants.
Go Falcons!
PS3. It’s been a while.
How long? I decided to crank up my PS3 today. It’s been a while. I think the last time I turned on the PS3 I was in the process of upgrading my firmware to 2.50. Today, I had to upgrade to the 2.53 firmware.
When I last turned on my PS3, I started downloading the Sep and Oct Qore episodes. Looks like Sep was still in progress, and Oct had not even started. I went into the store and started downloads for Nov and Dec Qore episodes.
Folding at Home is now something called PlayStation Life. No idea about this one. I actually enjoyed folding proteins; not sure about this new Life thing.
I decided to pass some time with Madden; had to upgrade to game data 1.20. My last profile was saved in Aug, so yes; it has been a long time since I fired up the PS3. I decided to play the Falcons vs. Texans, but first I looked for a roster update. No idea where to find those, so I just put in Ryan as my staring QB. Played a quick game on 3 minute quarters and won 13-6. Yeah me! My IQ is still sub 500, but who cares? It is not like I have penis size complex or anything.
I have been out of the PS3 scene for awhile, but I have not really missed anything. Not sure if Bowl season will finally get me going with NCAA Football. Heck, I never gave the second patch a chance.
I keep thinking that the Little Big Planet thing will bring me back to the world of gaming, but I have not really been interested enough to pick that one up. It may be more like priorities, and what is getting most of my free time. Right now, obviously gaming is taking a back seat.
So here’s to turning on the PS3 for the first time in months (literally). May my Qore downloads succeed, and may I actually be in the mood to watch them. Hopefully that hot chick is still hosting because that was really the only reason to watch them in the first place.
Would you believe that this is the first year in forever that I can remember actually not asking for a game from Santa? Seriously. My wife is usually good for a game or three, and she makes sure my mom also throws in one for good measure. I did not even bother putting a game on the Christmas list this year. My how times have changed.
Good gaming to you and yours!
2008 Bowl Picks Round 1
Is it December 20th already? Must be time for some Bowl games. Not that anyone cares about these first few games, but I figured I would pick against the spread this year. I will also yet again continue my futile attempt to catch some of every game. WTF is wrong with me?
Here goes nothing …
Eaglebank Bowl: Wake Forest (7-5, 4-4 ACC) vs. Navy (8-4). Three questions. What is an Eaglebank? Where did this Bowl come from? Who cares about watching a rematch? Navy took down Wake Forest 24-17 September 27, but those Demon Deacons are now favored by 3. I will take Wake.
New Mexico Bowl: Colorado St (6-6, 4-4 MWC) vs. Fresno St (7-5, 4-4 WAC). I am going to assume that Fresno St. still has not recovered from their November 28 61-10 ass kicking by Boise St. The 3 that the Bulldogs are getting will not be enough.
Magicjack St. Petersburg Bowl: Memphis (6-6, 4-4 C-USA) vs. South Florida (7-5, 2-5 Big East). Good Grief. Magicjack? Whatever. I am taking the Bulls even if they have to lay 12 to the Tigers.
Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl: (16) Brigham Young (10-2, 6-2 MWC) vs. Arizona (7-5, 5-4 Pac-10). Arizona is favored by 3, and no wonder when you look at their scheduled you will see their 5 loses were by a combined 20 points. Unlike BYU who laid a couple of eggs in their defeats. Arizona is the pick.
Just because I am on a roll, I am going to pick Sunday’s game as well.
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Southern Miss (6-6, 4-4 C-USA) vs. Troy (8-4, 6-1 S. Belt). How can you not go with Troy and the Sun Belt? I am surprised that Southern Miss is only getting 4 in this one because they are more likely going to take it on the chin by 10.
Thank God that is over. Hopefully some better games are on the way.
In Nick we trust?
The December 8, 2008 Sporting News had a short article on Branden Smith’s campus visit to Alabama. The last sentence of the article jumped right off the page:
“He’s [Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban] the type of guy you could really trust.”
LMAO. Just ask Miami Dolphin fans how much you can really trust Saban. Good stuff!
Ravens, Chargers, Redskins, Giants oh my!
A fun weekend of football is almost here. For Falcons fans, there are lots of games in play that impact their playoff hopes, but as this article states, none of this matters if Atlanta cannot win on the road at Minnesota.
Here’s your NFC rooting guide: Dallas plays Baltimore on Saturday and Tampa Bay faces San Diego at 1 p.m. Sunday. Falcon fans are rooting for the AFC teams, Baltimore and San Diego.
The Falcons will hit the field knowing the outcomes of those two key games. The Philadelphia at Washington game is at the same time 4:15 p.m., while Carolina plays the New York Giants in the Sunday night game. Washington and the Giants are the teams the Falcons fans are rooting for to win.
Regardless of the outcome, it has been a great year for the Falcons. Even if they do not make the playoffs, which will be disappointing, it will be a hell of an off-season. Waiting to next year will actually have some meaning for the first time in a long time because the Falcons will actually be expected to be a Top 10 team next year. Who would have guessed?
Go Falcons! And Ravens, Chargers, Redskins, and Giants!
Falcons have Pro Bowlers. Does anyone care?
Congratulations to Roddy White and Michael Turner, who earlier this week were selected as NFC All Pros.
Turner has rushed for 1,421 yards this season, second in the NFL. He also has set the Falcons’ single-season rushing touchdown mark with 15 and has two games left. He signed a six-year $34.5 million free-agent contract with the Falcons in March.
White has 1,301 yards receiving, which is second in NFL, with 84 catches.
Surprisingly, defensive end John Abraham, who is third in the league with 15.5 sacks, did not make the team. Carolina’s Julius Peppers, Minnesota’s Jared Allen and New York’s Justin Tuck were the Pro Bowl picks.
Abraham got screwed. While he may no longer be an every down player, he has been just short of spectacular as a pass rusher. The injustice was sort of corrected when Abraham was named as an alternate, but really, who tracks being named as an NFC All Pro alternate selection?
Matt Ryan was also named as an alternate. Ryan has put together a solid rookie year, but is he really Pro Bowl worthy, even as an alternate?
One final point, before I blow my wad on this post. Does anyone really give a damn about the Pro Bowl? Seriously, I do not think I have watched a Pro Bowl game since my childhood days. It is completely irrelevant, and a waste of time. The NFL should just stick with naming All Pros and do away with the Pro Bowl.
Do the Braves have a case of the bad back blues?
Why are the Braves going after SS Rafael Furcal and his bad back? I do not get this one. Could they really be considering signing Furcal as the precursor to trading current SS Yunel Escobar? Please say it’s not true!
Rumors are flying. Furcal to 2B, and current 2B Kelly Johnson to left field. I am not sure WTF the Braves are thinking, but when desperation sets in, the wolves get careless. Crazy talk. Unprotected sex. Whatever you want to call it, call it bad news.
I could see the Braves putting Escobar as the centerpiece of a deal to trade for a number two pitcher. You know, a reach. The Braves are not going to land a top flight ace of the rotation, so the front off brass will grit their teeth, and pull off a horrendous deal that may set the Braves back for years.
Falcons still in the playoff hunt.
At the beginning of the year, if you would have asked me if I would be happy with a nine win season, I would have said heck yes. Funny how things change …
Atlanta is now sitting at 9-5, good for their first winning season since 2004. And oh by the way, they have never had back-to-back winning seasons, which is pretty incredulous if you stop for a minute to think about what that really means. So suffering Falcons fans are use to misery. It is part of our calling cards. We expect the worse. But a winning season? No one could have predicted such a great year. Playoffs? No way Bob, but here are our Falcons, sitting smack in the middle of the playoff hunt.
The only probably is that Atlanta is on the outside looking in at the playoffs, which brings me full circle. Am I happy with a nine win season? What about a ten or eleven win season? Could the Falcons possibly win eleven games and not make the playoffs? The sad reality is that the Falcons need to win out, but they will still need a ton of help to make a post season appearance.
Trying to understand all the scenarios and tie-breakers is enough to make your head swim, but to make it simple, the Falcons need to win out against the Vikings and Rams, and hope (no, pray) for Tampa or Dallas to cough up a loss. Lurking in the mist are the resurgent Eagles, and thanks to a piss poor call, they own a tie-breaker over the Falcons. Never mind that the Falcons may not have beaten the Eagles, but that muffed punt non-fumble call is now part of revisionist history.
Atlanta’s probability of going 2-0: 75%.
I think the Falcons should be able to win on the road at Minnesota, while the last game of the season against St. Louis is at home, and should be a freebie.
Tampa Bay’s probability of going 2-0: 90%.
Not good news for Falcons fans looking for the Buccaneers to slide. Tampa Bay’s last two games are at home against the Chargers and Raiders. The Chargers are still in the playoff hunt (at least mathematically), but they are having a disappointing year. The Raiders? Well, they suck.
Dallas’ probability of going 2-0: 65%.
Looking for Dallas to slip out of the playoff picture is more promising, but they seem to be on a roll. They finish up the year at home against a tough Baltimore team, and on the road against Philadelphia. If Philadelphia is still in the hunt, you have to like their chances, but that scenario may further complicate Atlanta’s playoff hopes.
Never tell me the odds …
Trading down from Tommy.
I am really not sure what Auburn was thinking when they fired … err … forced Tommy Tuberville to resign … err … accepted Tuberville’s decision to step down … um … paid Tuberville 5 million plus to get the hell out of dodge.
So the best Auburn could do was Gene Chizik. WTF is a Chizik? God bless you!
I really do not get this one. I can understand that the alumni are disenfranchised with Tuberville, and want to go in a different direction. I can even understand calling on a former Auburn coach. All that is well and good, but is Chizik the best Auburn could do? How in the world is his hiring going to energize the fan base? Are the recruits going to start singing the “I needs me some Chizik” song and dance, and come running to the Plains of Alabama? Not likely.
OK, let me get this out. I have nothing against Chizik. Probably a good man and his credentials certainly peg him as a damn good assistant coach. Key word is assistant – it is not like he was on everyone’s radar as the next great head coach.
Alas, poor Auburn is going to look back on this one in a few years and long for the days of Tuberville. Funny how fast the faithful forget 13-0 seasons.
Jilted Braves are lucky to be spurned by Burnett.
So A.J. Burnett decided to play closer to home, and opted to sign with the Yankees instead of the Braves. Good for the Braves.
ESPN.com reported the Yankees’ offer to Burnett was worth $82.5 million. The Braves’ offer was believed to be worth $80 million, after the Braves increased an initial four-year, $64 million offer by turning a fifth-year option into a guarantee.
Burnett, who will be 32 in January, struggled with injuries throughout his career before having his best season for the Blue Jays. He never had more than 12 wins before 2008.
I can understand there is a shortage of good arms, but I think it would have been a poor move to give Burnett such a huge contract. It may turn out that Burnett is worth every penny, but I like where a writer from the Boston Herald (right, no bias here) takes this one.
The Yankees have committed five years, with an average annual value (AAV) of $16.5 million to a pitcher who has won more than 12 games exactly once in his major league career. That’s a curiously modest track record for someone with Burnett’s stuff.
But there are times – too many times – when Burnett looks like a classic underachiever. Despite the quality of stuff, he’s a mere 11 games over .500 in his 10-year career. And durability is hardly his calling card, topping 200 innings only three times.
So the premise here is that Burnett has great stuff, is frequently injured, and only pitches big in contract years. Sounds like a perfect fit for the Yankees.
Now maybe the Braves will focus on trying to shore up the farm, and only signing (or trading for) a value pitcher instead of going after an overvalued big name pitcher.
Decisions. Head scratching, bad decisions.
How is Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith still justifying his decision to punt on forth down in the closing minutes of last week’s loss to the Saints?
Smith believed the Falcons’ defense was smart and stout enough to force a three-and-out and let rookie quarterback Matt Ryan try for a miraculous finish, but the Saints never gave back the ball.
“I’ve got no reservations about it,” Smith said Monday. “With 3:15 to go, fourth-and-5 from our 35, I felt like we’d punt them back, which we did. Michael (Koenen) hit a big punt. They had the ball first-and-10 on the 13 with 3:15 to go. We had two timeouts and the two-minute (warning). If we are able to stop them, we were going to get the ball back to our offense in better field position than if we’d taken the gamble on fourth down.”
Hello! What a piss poor call. You are down by 4 so a field goal is not going to hurt you, and you are just as likely have having the Saints run out the clock. The defense did not stop the f’ing Saint all day, so I have no idea why Smith thought his defense was get pick up some magic IQ points.
After the game, this dumb ass had the audacity to compare Ryan to Vick. Let’s don’t go there. He could have gotten his point across without the needless comparison.
Anyhow, tomorrow’s game versus the dreaded Buckaroos from Tampa Bay ought to be a good one. When I purchased my season tickets this year, I never would have predicted that the Falcons would be in prime playoff position with three games to play. What a great turnaround!
Trading the Farm …
Can the Braves recapture any of the glory days from their early 90’s run? The Braves recent mistakes and their current pursuit of free agent pitcher A.J. Burnett does not bode well for an immediate recovery in the 2009 season.
Case in point, an interesting article from the ajc.com discusses the Braves trading away the farm.
“In the past season the Braves have traded away a busload of prospects for, in one case, a mere flirtation with Mark Teixiera, who was merely passing through town. They did happen to pick up an inexpensive Casey Kotchman in the deal, but back to Vazquez again, they traded a hot number with power, Tyler Flowers, for him. And Tyler can play first base, and has power.”
Here is the rub. In the past, the Braves won with pitching, most of which was home grown. Now they are going for quick hits (Vazquez and Burnett), which would not be some horrible if the Braves did not have to trade away the farm in the process.