Archive for December, 2008

Juicy’s NFL Point Pool Week 15 Review

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008


Hey Gang!

 

Happy Pro Bowl Section Day to you and yours!

 

Sorry it took me so long to post this…  I got into a fight with a 7′ Christmas Tree
and was very much NOT the winner!  My
hands are so sappy, each key stroke takes 5 minutes.

 

Once again, thank you everyone for getting your picks in
on time!!! Much appreciated!

 

THERE IS A GAME THIS THURSDAY, SO ALL PICKS ARE DUE THURSDAY
NIGHT BY 8:00 P.M. ET.

 

Here is the Low Down for Week 15 (and some other junk):

Congrats to FFP for the largest gain this week and for
jumping to 1st place.

 

Only 2 more weeks in the regular season! Yikes!! What are
we going to do??

 

The average points wagered by each team jumped to 80%.

 

The average risk this week was 27,478.

 

Of the total points wagered this week, the majority or
57% were bet on losing teams.

 

Another crazy week — 11 underdogs were winners, 5 of
them won outright.  The Chiefs make me so
sad; the Lions keep fighting and actually looked decent at certain points this
week; I was so happy that Cassel had a great
game after losing his father last week; Jets were saved by fumble; the Steelers
were saved by a much refuted irrefutable reversal.

 

I think I grew too accustomed to having a dependably
great team last year in the Patriots. It just seems the teams that have reached
that "great" echelon this year fall quickly and rather disgracefully.

 

Will the UPS whiteboard guy ever run out of things to
draw?

 

Arena Football League will cancel the 2009 season to
build a better business model given the difficult state of the economy. That’s
disappointing. In these tough economic times, tickets to an arena football game
were about the only affordable ticket in the sports world.

 

If I start a petition to stop Keanu Reaves from making
any more movies, can I count on your support??

 

NHL: No Humor League

 

I honestly cannot believe the Dallas Stars are kicking
Sean Avery off the team. Now I don’t follow hockey at all, so I’m not sure if
he’s good or not. But he had a $15.5M contract. I’m assuming he’s not a piece
of dog doodey. So, why kick him off just because he likes to talk badly about
his ex-girlfriend?

 

In case you haven’t been following the saga, a couple of
weeks ago Avery made a comment about his "sloppy seconds" which I
just think is hilarious. The Stars were getting ready to travel to Calgary and he made some comment about one of the Calgary guys who is
currently shacking up with Avery’s ex, Elisha Cuthbert (who happens to be a
favorite of Big Papa’s from her days as Jack Bauer’s daughter on 24). Anyway,
it was a funny comment and not totally over the top.

 

The NHL suspended him for 6 games and made him seek anger
management classes. Unbelievable. And now the Stars are saying that when he is
allowed to come back after the suspension they don’t want him on their team.
Seriously?? It’s not like he shot himself in the leg!! Since when it is
impermissible for a guy to diss his ex? That’s just human nature. And let’s be
honest, Elisha does seem to be riffling through the NHL starting lineups. And "sloppy
seconds" is just such a funny thing to say.

 

The craziest thing is that reading the quotes from his
former teammates and coaches and others involved make it sound like he had both
of his legs amputated. "There’s no sense talking about it until he gets
better." As far as trading him is concerned, "it’s hard enough to
make a deal with 2 healthy players."

 

There’s nothing wrong with the guy! He made a smart ass
comment. That’s all!!! I guess he’s undergoing a humorectomy. I wish him a
speedy recovery!

 

So I sucked it up and watched MNF … with the sound
on,  no less!

Here are the things I learned while watching MNF:

It’s a lot easier to convert a 3rd and 3 than a 3rd and 7
plus.

 

Gaining enough yards for a first down can also be called "a
positive play".

 

You can segue any conversation easily with "speaking
of Brian Westbrook"? doesn’t matter if you are talking about the price of
oil in China?
works every time!

 

Evidently, saying that a receiver is covered by Shaun
Rogers is an oxymoron. That’s interesting. I thought an oxymoron was when 2
contradictory terms were combined, as in deafening silence. How would it be
contradictory to say that a 360 pound mammoth of a man is covering someone? I
can’t question the wisdom of the MNF crew. I can only hope to learn from it.
(By the way, who weighs more: Shaun Rodgers, Cromeo or Andy Reid?)

 

No more Cromeo jokes. His droopy dog eyes make me so sad.
I just want to hug him.

 

It was 40 degrees warmer in Philly than Denver on Monday.

 

Monday was Chamber of Commerce Day in Philly. I hope you
all got your Chamber of Commerce Day cards out in time!

 

MNF hired some focus groups prior to the game. Their
findings: it takes the average person 14 references before they understand that
Ken Dorsey went to Miami
and led them to a National Championship. Just to be on the safe side, the MNF
crew went with 18 references.

 

If you can’t be too sure that the audience understands
the words "dramatic" and "drastic", it is better to use
them together. Such as, "their numbers are dramatically drastically down".

 

Every time Braylon Edwards is responsible for a
reception, you have to say "caught that one".

(27 Dropped Balls this year!!! Amazing. Simply Amazing.
The Sports Guy had the best idea - "what if the Browns saved every game
ball that Edwards dropped during the ‘08 season and auctioned them afterward as
a collector’s set? Imagine a sports bar buying it and building a special shelf
behind the bar to accommodate 27 dropped footballs from Braylon? The Browns
fans would go there just to stare at it the same way people stare at the Grand Canyon.")

 

It’s fun to say things like "big time NFL throw".

 

The over/under on the time elapsed between the announcers
saying "it’s impossible to find anything wrong with Donovan McNabb"
and Donovan McNabb throwing an interception is 6 seconds. (by the way? I LOVE
that Baskett chased down McDonald on that INT and saved a touchdown!! It always
bugs me to see guys jog idly down the field as if they have no intention of
stopping the pick 6… I thought that McDonald was in the end zone after stiff
arming Westbrook? way to go Baskett!!)

 

It is more than permissible to say "explosive run"
and "gain of 2" in the same sentence.

 

The game film is only used when the team did everything
perfectly? kind of as a backdrop to a great celebration. If the team had some
miscues, they will not want to watch the game film!

 

Fireworks make everything better! Even an Eagles TD.

 

Kevin Kolb has way too much skin on his forehead. When he
straps on his helmet, all of the skin pushes into his eyes? How is this kid a
QB? He can’t even see through his skin flaps.

 

I was confused as to why the Browns were sporting not
only the "GU" sticker on their helmets for Gene Upshaw, but also a "GH"
sticker. My boys in the booth didn’t elaborate on this soon enough for my
liking, so I turned to my one and only source of truth and wisdom - Wikipedia!
The Browns will wear the "GH" sticker for the remainder of the year
to pay tribute to Hall of Fame Offensive Guard Gene Hickerson who passed away a
couple months ago. The schmucks in the booth didn’t mentioned this until 1:17
left in the game.

 

Other MNF Thoughts?

So, I guess Hank Williams Jr. always says "let’s
blow the roof off <home team> tonight" in his MNF song. It was
insensitive when he said it in Houston
following Hurricane Ike’s destruction of the dome and it was dumb when he said
it in Philly where there is no roof.

 

I was going to give them grief for continuously saying
about Donovan McNabb’s performance, "you can’t throw a ball better than
that" and "you can’t spot the open receiver better than that"?
but then I realized that Tirico was just saying that to Jaws.

 

I went to the kitchen in between plays? and I came back
to hear the MNF guys saying, "sometimes you have to look in the mirror and
say you know what, we’re not that good". I was so excited that they
admitted it. I rewound to hear the whole admission. Evidently they were talking
about Braylon Edwards. Ah, so close!!!

 

Is it just me, or were the guys kind of bragging about
having the Browns on MNF 3 times this year? That’s nothing to be proud of.

 

I cannot believe it took them over 2 hours to mention
that Jaws played for the Eagles. I missed the pre-game. I am really hoping they
drilled that little factoid to death. I was disappointed at how long it took
them to talk about it during the game.

 

Possibly my favorite exchange between the dynamic trio
occurred when they were lamenting on Cromeo’s future in Cleveland. After spending 5 minutes
prognosticating who his replacement will be once he gets shit canned, they
spent the next 3 minutes criticizing sports reporters and saying how unfair it
is to jump to a conclusion that he will be fired. I really don’t think that
even SNL could do a better job scripting these nimrods.

 

 

I hope everyone has a great week and good luck to those
remaining in the pool.

 

Cheers,

~Juicy

 

Fake John Anthony’s NFL Week 15 MNF Pick

Monday, December 15th, 2008

Ok gang… FJA performed fairly well yesterday given the Steelers not only covered but also won outright.  We will take yesterday’s winnings and parlay it into tonight’s game.  I don’t really like the game but would give you my point of view. 

* Browns are weak. No offense. No QB. No heart left.
* Eagles are fighting for a playoff spot and trying to save Andy Reid’s job.
* RESULT:  All points to Eagles blow out and under because Browns won’t score.

But I am not going to make those picks. I don’t trust McNabb. Hence the pick is UNDER. Just stick with principles.

Fake John Anthony’s SNF Pick for Week 15

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

If you’ve gone with me on the 1PM games, you’d have been 1-1 because for some reason the Jets decided to score.  GB/JAX game had plenty of room… no stress there.

The 4PM game featured my Steelmen… and Moneyline at +130 or so.  That gives FJA a 2-0 record at the 4PM game.  now it’s time for Giants vs Cowgirls. 

With all b*tching going on this week in Dallas, they sound like they’ve something to proof… However I dont think Tony Homo can get it done in December. This boy sucks in December.  Giants will come up big tonight.  I also like the under.  Tonight’s pick is G-men and under.  It should be a low one. 

Fake John Anthony’s NFL Week 15 Picks

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

Fake John Anthony likes the following:

1PM:  Green Bay’s game being under.  These two teams can’t score. It’ll be under.
1PM:  Jets game under.  Jets and Bills are pathetic - especially the Bills.  Go under.

4PM:  Pittsburgh Steelmen to not only cover but win!!  Go with Moneyline as well.

 

Juicy’s NFL Week 14 Review

Friday, December 12th, 2008


I’m taking a break from my snowman building to write
this. I woke up this morning to 12" of snow! It was so awesome! That is,
until I turned on the news and saw that school was not canceled. Most schools
just had a delayed start of 1 hour. How sad that a foot of new snow won’t
cancel school here. I grew up in Texas
where if the weatherperson even said the word snow, school would be canceled
for 3 days. Snow days are the best!!

 

Here is the Low Down for Week 14 (with some added fluff
to keep it interesting):

 

Congrats to Bob H for hitting the biggest gain this week.

 

The average points wagered by each team dropped a little
bit this week to 70%.

 

The average risk this week was 19,327.

 

I am sure I don’t need to tell you this, but it was a
tough week for point pool participants. There’s a lot of red on the results
page. Even Hot Rob D lost some points.

 

Of the total points wagered this week, a staggering
458,900 (or 72%) were bet on losing teams. Of the 133 picks submitted, 82 (or
62%) were posted for losing teams.

 

The Jersey teams were
especially hurtful to the pool. 211,900 points lost on the Jets and Giants.

 

I was in Scottsdale
this weekend. There is a group that meets up for the NFL games on Sunday. The
group is as diversified as a group of sports fans can be (without just randomly
pulling a jersey out of a box), representing the Giants, the Packers, the
Cowboys, the Redskins, the Chiefs and the Lions. ALL LOSERS!! (There is also a
Bronco fan, but they didn’t cover so it doesn’t count.) It doesn’t matter that
we were all losers!  We still had a great time!! In fact, I consider
the day to be somewhat of a success in that the Eagles fans called us
obnoxious. The sports bar we go to is a Philly bar so other than our little
cluster of misfits, it’s all frickin Eagles fans. If another bar patron dares
to wear anything from any of the other NFC East teams, the Philly fans chant "assssssss-hooooooooole"
when the person walks in. It’s hard to get a Philly fan to say that you’re
being obnoxious. Takes a lot of effort and dedication. I’m proud of our little
group!!

 

Speaking of Arizona,
the Cardinals are hosting a playoff game. Is this one of the signs that the end
times are upon us? Just to be on the safe side, I’m loading up on pork &
beans.

 

If Buffalo continues with their offensive production of
the last 2 weeks, averaging 3 points per game, it will take them 18 games to
total their offensive production from 3 weeks ago (54 points in Week 12 against
KC).

 

There were 4 outright underdog winners, 3 of those won
outright on the road including MiamiCanada. How
much of an advantage was it for Miami
to have that game played in a dome? I’m not sure that they could have played in
Buffalo in the
snow and cold. Christmas came early for the Dolphins.
winning in

 

I guess Plaxico called the Giants receivers before the
Eagles game and asked them to win the game for him. ESPN’s DJ Gallo posted the
conversation:

 

Teammate: "Hello?"

 

Burress: "It’s Plax."

 

Teammate: "How you doing?"

 

Burress: "Good. Hey, can I ask you something?"

 

Teammate: "Shoot. Wait! No! I didn’t mean it that
way! Slip of the tongue! Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!"

 

Burress: (silence)

 

Teammate: "Uh, hello?"

 

Burress: "Sorry, I missed what you said just then. I
dropped my cell phone down my sweatpants. Anyway — can I ask you something?"

 

Teammate: "Definitely."

 

Burress: "Can you win the game for me today?"

 

Teammate: "We’ll sure try. We’ll come out with all
guns blazing. Gah! I did it again!"

 

Burress: "I’m sorry. I missed that, too. I
accidentally shot myself in the ear. You were saying?"

 

Book List

(Action Nerds of the World Unite!)

So, I mentioned last week that I’m behind in my reading.
I’m trying to catch up. I was so proud of myself last night for watching the
MNF game on mute while reading. (Not only proud of myself, but really found it
to be quite enjoyable? especially when Jimmy sent me a text message saying that
Tony Kornheiser made him want to shoot himself!!) I had a couple of books that
got called up on my library wait list. I have to read those first because they
have due dates and I really don’t want them to stick Mr. Bookman on me!! I am
starting with Robert Rankin’s The Brightonomicon. Rankin is the author of
Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse and The Toyminator, two of my recent
faves. I also picked up A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael
Beah. It was recommended by my sister and Jon Stewart, 2 people whose opinions
I trust explicitly. I’ll keep you guys posted as my reading progresses. Let me
know if you would like to join the book club with Snatch, Ace and me.

 

Winter Beer Suggestion

I’m a huge fan of Sam Adams’ Winter Lager. If you like
it, I would also recommend trying the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. It is the
perfect winter brew when sitting by the fire listening to the snow fall!

 

Music Suggestion

I’m going local for my music suggestion this week with Denver’s own The Fray.
They have a new self titled album coming out in February. You can hear most of
the tracks online before it hits, including my favorite, their new single "You
Found Me". Loving that song!!! The Fray are going to be in Vail this
weekend for Snow Daze, with Meese another local band I’m really digging. I am
thinking I should probably head up there!

 

I also recommend "Sex on Fire" by Kings of
Leon. And I like the band Apocalyptica (not to be confused with the Mel Gibson
Movie Apocalypto) and their song "I Don’t Care" not to be confused
with "I Don’t Care" by Fall Out Boy.

 

There is another Denver
band that I have been wanting to recommend for a while, but they have this
recurring lyric in their latest song that just skeeves me? The band 3OH!3 is
very catchy and I enjoy listening to them. They have a song out called "Don’t
Trust Me". I love listening to the song for the first 2 minutes, then
comes the following lyrics, "Shush girl, shut your lips, do the Helen
Keller and talk with your hips" and then repeated 3 times. Skeeeeevy!!!

 

What not to do while waiting for a cop to process your
information

During a routine traffic stop in Indiana, a cop gets a woman’s license and
registration and heads back to his car to run a check on her. She politely asks
if it would be ok for her to smoke. Then she pulls out a joint. NICE!!! Read
the story here.

 

Are you talking to me?

I can’t wait for the scientists to release studies
showing that those hands-free Bluetooth devises cause paralysis, nose bleeds
and numbness in the extremities. Those things have got to go! I can’t tell when
someone is talking to me or to themselves. I was at the grocery store yesterday
and the guy next to me said "boneless chicken or chicken on the bone".
I had to look down to see if I was wearing my "Ask Me For My Opinion About
Chicken" t-shirt. I was not. Unsolicited. Maybe he could just tell that I
was passionate about the subject. I am very opinionated about chicken. As soon
as I started answering, he walked off and kept talking. Rude! That’s when I
spotted the stupid thing in his ear. So dumb. There was another guy on my
flight this weekend wearing the ear piece for the entire flight. Seriously? You
can’t take it out for the 2 hour flight in which you will not be able to use
your phone? So dumb.

 

We laughed hysterically

My friend Gigi called me this afternoon to tell me that
they were talking about the origin of the word "hysteric" on the
radio. The origin is found in the Greek word hystera meaning womb to form the
Greek word hysterikos, reflecting the Greeks’ belief that hysteria was peculiar
to women and caused by disturbances in the uterus. So, technically speaking,
only women can be hysterical.  I can only imagine, based on the
connotation, that the word "rational" comes from the Latin word
rationalis meaning to have a penis and the word "irrational" means
that which is without a penis.

 

Fill in the blank

Ever notice Charlie Weis always gets caught on TV with
_________? Big Papa posted a message on the boards last week, but it cut off
the end. What do you think he was trying to say?? I’m thinking it’s either a) a
stupid look on his face, b) a turkey leg in each hand or c) out being able to
explain why the team stinks.

 

Speaking of getting caught on tv

I hope everyone tuned in for the post game coverage of
the Lions/Vikings game. The Vikings owner gave the game ball to the coach’s son
who is being deployed to Iraq.
Very nice. Except for the LIVE shot on Fox from the Vikings’ locker room
showing Vikings player Visanthe Shiancoe toweling off after his shower. See the
shot here.

 

Not disturbing enough?

Try this story. There was a 20-month old boy in Kentucky who fell onto
his mother’s car keys and got them lodged in his brain. Somehow he is ok, but
the pictures are horrific.

Check it out.

 

Need something to tip the disturbing scale one and for
all?

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King thinks the Eagles are
going to win out.

 

How’s that for leaving on a high note?!?!

 

Good luck this week!

~Juicy