Has The NFC Caught Up With The NFC?

The short answer is no.. not quite. The New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts are clearly superior to any other team in either conference. However, given the drop off of teams like the Steelers, Chargers, Broncos, Bengals and, yes folks, the Ravens, there is now a parity between the two conferences that has not been there for a number of years.

Right now there are six or seven teams in the NFC who can compete with any of the "second-tier" AFC teams. The NFC East may be the strongest division in all of football again. As an unapologetic Giants fan I know I'll catch some grief from this but the New York Giants are playing better football right now than any of the above mentioned AFC teams. Like the Colts and Patriots, they're not just beating teams, they're demoralizing them. The Cowboys can play with anyone and the Eagles and Redskins show signs of emergence as well.

In the NFC Central, the Green Bay Packers have a defense that I'd stack up against most AFC opponents and Favre is having his best season since '03. And let's not discount the Bears completely either. Quarterback issues aside, the Bears have struggled with as many injuries as the Ravens and still appear to have enough talent, certainly defensively, to play tight games against the Jaguars, Chargers and Steelers while being more than capable of beating the Broncos, Bengals or Ravens.

The NFC WEST has been a major disappointment thus far. Injuries to the Cardinals, 49ers and St. Louis have made them mostly non-factors. However the Cardinals already beat the Steelers once and came very close against the Ravens.

Obviously, what I suggest can only be proven through direct competition and over the next few weeks there are a few key inter-conference matchups that will either support or refute my belief. Here's four to watch:

Week 12

Denver at Chicago- Look for the Bears to have a healthier team, a quarterback who's more in synch and a rather effortless home win against the Broncos.

Week 15

Detroit at San Diego- A year ago this would've been a laugher but the Lions are young, improving and may even be in a Wild Card fight. Will they win this game? Not a chance. But you'll see some things you might not have expected.

Week 16

Baltimore at Seattle- Hard to gauge a game this late in the season. Will either team be playing for anything meaningful? If they are, and the Ravens will probably REALLY need this game, it's going to be a sad day for team Purple. Seattle's better at home.

Week 17

New England at New York Giants- Super Bowl preview? Probably not. I don't think the Giants are ready to make it that far. They'll stumble somewhere. But if this game has any playoff implication at all, or if the Pats decide to go for 16-0, watch New York give the Patriots the best fight they've had this side of Indianapolis.

Thoughts? Comments? Am I nuts? Let's hear what you have to say!

Technorati Tags: free picks, AFC, Gambling
NFC, NFL, football

Annoying Things About The NFL

Yes, of course we all love the NFL. But below are a few things that bother and annoy us about America's real favorite past-time.

Over-Dressed Cheerleaders- We don't like when cold weather forces cheerleaders to wear heavy clothing. If you're not showing cleavage we don't need you. Stay home.

The "D" and the Fence Thing- The first person who thought of holding up the letter D and a cardboard fence was a genius. But we get it now. Ban it!

Prancing After Tackles- Don't like when players dance after they perform the most rudimentary part of their job. You're SUPPOSED to tackle people. Stop dancing.

Praying with the Other Team- If you feel the need to thank the Lord for helping you catch a ball, fine. But no more praying with the other team. You're supposed to wish bad things on them. Leave it there.

Bryant Gumbel- Should be self-explanatory. If not, we suggest you watch five minutes of an NFL Network broadcast.

Tailgating- Al picked this one but I see his point. Why do we consider it fun to eat food next to our cars?

Painted Fans- There is simply no reason to ever paint yourself purple, blue or any other color. You look stupid.

Camera Shots of Owners- We really don't ever need to see or hear the owner of a football team. When they show the guy up in his sky box with his third trophy wife we want to shoot him.

Turducken- We get it John. It's a thing inside a thing inside a thing. Please find something new for next Thanksgiving.

Manning's Pointing- We're extremely tired of watching Peyton Manning point everywhere like he's directing traffic before the snap. What the hell is he really accomplishing anyway? Oh, right a Super Bowl.

All Field Goal Kickers- We respect the fact that they kick footballs very well but can we agree to never interview one or even acknowledge him as part of the team? The kicker should have to wear a different uniform.

Special Teams Coaches- Please, how hard is THAT job? Couldn't you just get the linebackers coach to take on a little extra responsibility?

The Pro Bowl- If you don't know why this stinks, you must not watch football.

Commentators Who Try to be Funny- Personally I've never laughed at anything said by a sports commentator. Well, except for Don Meredith. He was funny.

Technorati Tags: free picks, John Madden, Gambling
comedy, college football, football

Enough With the Fantasy Already... Time to BET!

We all love fantasy football. I get it. But here's what I REALLY love- hitting a 5 team parlay on Saturday and a 3 team "if and reverse" on Sunday. Pretty much never happens. Call it my fantasy if you want to, whatever. Starting tomorrow morning on our show, betting on football is going to be a MUCH BIGGER part of the conversation.

Does betting talk scare you? Let's deal with the facts. 30 million Americans gamble online. According to www.americangaming.org

http://www.americangaming.org/Industry/factsheets/issues_detail.cfv?id=16

around 8 billion dollars was bet on last year's Super Bowl. Whether it's a fifty dollar office pool, or a guy dropping two dimes on the Thursday Night ESPN2 game between Toledo and Eastern Michigan, wagering is ingrained in our conscience. Of course, ALWAYS BE RESPONSIBLE!

Here are the FIVE CARDINAL RULES OF GAMBLING.

1) NEVER BET WITH MONEY YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE- establish a bankroll and if you get wiped out, retire for the season. The way to avoid that happening is to only bet 10% of your bankroll on any given game.

2) NEVER CHASE YOUR MONEY- If you lose with the one o'clock and the four o'clock games, don't try to get it all back with the NBC Sunday Night game. It's easy to convince yourself that the Ravens are " a lock" against the Bengals- doesn't mean they are. And that speaks to another cardinal rule...

3) DON'T BE A "HOMER"- I know you love the Ravens. Good. Paint your dog purple if you want to. Hang Ray Lewis' poster in your john. But don't bet on the Ravens just because you're a fan. You probably know this one but it's an easy mistake to make. When in doubt, lay off the game. Or, think of it this way- if the information suggests you should bet against the Ravens, do it because either way you come out a winner, right? But never bet heavy against your favorite team because if you lose, believe me, you'll go from being a rabid fan to praying your team contracts rabies with one fumble.

4) DON'T GET GREEDY- You made a nice score. You had Nevada-Reno over Nebraska +22.5 against the spread and you bet them to win straight up on the money line. You've been dancing all afternoon. Now what? Do nothing. Bet your normal bets. Don't step up heavy just because you're up. Bookies love that. They know that the more you play the more likely you are to lose. Sometimes it's best to walk away from the table.

5) DON'T BE INFLUENCED BY THE LAST THING YOU READ OR HEARD- Again, it's easy to do. Your bartender tells you he "loves the Packers." Chris Berman says on ESPN that "the Jaguars should roll over Houston." Your Aunt Maggie pulls you aside and said she had a dream that Ohio State covers by six touchdowns. Leave it all alone! Do your homework. Get the right information and then make the smartest play possible. Try to stay objective. I'll post another blog about "subconscious biases" and the role they play in wagering but, for now, bet for THE RIGHT REASONS!

Technorati Tags: free picks, notre dame, Gambling
comedy, college football, football

10 College Football Predictions You Should Know About...

Preseason, shmeeseason... college football STARTS TONIGHT! It counts folks. Granted there's not much in the way of marquee matchups tonight but LSU-MIss St. could be interesting for the first half before the Tigers realize they're in the hunt for a national championship and put a whooping on Mississippi State. On Saturday, of course, you've got Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech plus a game you won't want to miss- California vs. Tennessee. Finally, the wait is over!

Here's some predictions for the upcoming college football season:


10) Michigan quarterback Chad Henne will reveal that he was actually cloned in a laboratory using DNA from every other Wolverines quarterback since Elvis Grbac.

9) Boise State and the phrase "last season's Cinderella story" will be heard in the same sentence so many times it will actually cause a riff in the space-time continuum sucking Lee Corso into another dimension.

8) Watching the Wisconsin Badgers play will be FDA-approved as a way to combat sleeplessness.

7) Don Imus will make the mistake of calling the Rutgers football team "a bunch of nappy-headed 'hos" and be beaten to death.

6) In an exclusive interview, 80 year old Joe Paterno will admit that, even after 42 years, he's never really liked football and is "...only in it for the dough."

5) University of Texas' coach Mack Brown's hair will "kinda sorta move."

4) Ohio State will become so frustrated they'll try to reinstate Maurice Clarett.

3) USC quarterback and Heisman trophy candidate, John David Booty, will have a mid-season meltdown when he realizes that no matter how many yards he throws for he'll never get the quality "tail" that Matt Leinart gets.

2) Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis will become so aggravated by his team's ineptitude he'll convert to Judaism.

1) Terps coach Ralph Friedgen will lose his chance to do a Nutri-System commercial after he tries to eat Dan Marino.

Technorati Tags: free picks, notre dame, Gambling
comedy, college football, football

Marc's Early NFL Musings

As we move towards the start of the NFL season I thought I'd enlighten all of you with some early predictions. Here's a few items you can mark down as fact- until I'm proven to be COMPLETELY wrong.

- Daunte Culpepper will be a serious candidate for "Comeback Player of the Year."

- The New Orleans Saints will NOT be as good as they were last year.

- The Green Bay Packers will make the playoffs.

- QB David Carr will take the starting job away from Jake Delhomme in Carolina.

- The Ravens will make the playoffs but exit early. Sorry folks.

- Because of Bryant Gumbel, I will NEVER watch an NFL network game with the volume up.

- The Texans' DE Mario Williams will show everyone why he was chosen #1 overall in '06. Houston will be a VERY dangerous team to play.

- In Chicago Rex Grossman OUT, Brian Griese IN.

- RB Frank Gore will let down Fantasy Football owners who foolishly think he'll put up last year's numbers.

- Randy Moss WON'T be totally content in New England either.

Thoughts? Comments? email me at marc@madwinners.com


Technorati Tags: free picks, fantasy football, Gambling
comedy, baseball, football

My Brilliant Fantasy Football Drafting Strategy

To me, fantasy drafts are not the most exciting events in the world. A
football fantasy draft is a lot like sitting in a laundry mat watching
your clothes dry. BORING!

The first three or four rounds are almost a foregone conclusion.
There's so much information out there about who to draft and when to draft
them that's it's pretty much a "by the book" procedure. Like observing
traffic court.

Unless, of course, you're me and you take the Packers defense with your
ninth pick. The Packers DEFENSE? WHAT? I must've read about them
somewhere or I was tired or drunk or all of the above. I also took the
Cowboys tight end Jason Witten a bit earlier than maybe I should've.
Guys kept yelling out "Leonard Pope! Take Leonard Pope!" I didn't
listen. I can only pray that Pope breaks an ankle.

Which brings up another problem with fantasy sports...

It teaches us to hate our fellow man. I've got a guy in the Madwinners
Fantasy Baseball league who not only makes insulting trade offers, he
pilfered Chone Figgins when I made the mistake of placing him on
waivers because he was batting .121 at the time. Figgins is now batting ,342
and I ask the Lord every day if he can find it within himself to give
Figgins a severe muscle tear and his idiot owner a painful skin rash.

Anyway, here's who I drafted and my highly scientific reasons for doing
so...

1. Brian Westbrook (10)- Being a fan of the New York Giants means
hating the Eagles. I figure by drafting Westbrook with my first pick he's a
lock to break a leg. That helps the Jints.

2. Torry Holt (23)- Seems like a friendly guy and I had him last year.

3. Donald Driver (42)- By this time the only starting running backs
left were Ahman Green and Jamal Lewis. Besides, every time I see his name
I think of Donald Duck.

4. Deion Branch (55)- Was thinking of Cliff Branch. Oops.

5. Eli Manning (74)- If I didn't draft a Giant my brother would get
pissed at me and Shockey and Burress were already gone.

6. LenDale White (87)- I like to draft fat running backs three rounds
before the experts at ESPN say you're supposed to.

7. Jason Witten (106)- I looked at the cheat sheet of someone sitting
near me.

8. Alex Smith (119)- Thought I got lucky and WR Steve Smith was
overlooked.

9. Green Bay "D" (138)- I'm mentally challenged.

10. Najeh Davenport (151)- I headlined a comedy gig in Davenport, Iowa.

11. Sinorice Moss (170)- I figured he probably inherited his brother
Randy's skills. Then I remembered he's Santana's brother.

12. Stephen Gostkowski (183)- Couldn't tell ya.

13. Eric Moulds (202)- Tommy Fungus was already taken.

14. Chris Baker (215)- Don't know. Not even sure what position he
plays or what team he's on.

15. Kevin Faulk (234)- Thought he was great as Columbo.

16. Giants "D"- (247)- A voice told me that Lawrence Taylor was making
a comeback.

Technorati Tags: free picks, fantasy football, Gambling
comedy, baseball, football

Bonds Tied It And I Missed It

I missed it. After all of the talk and all of the anticipation I missed Bonds' tying home run. I heard it was a monster shot. That's okay I guess. I didn't see Aaron tie the record either. However I did see him break it and I'll be watching every at bat, I don't care where I am or what I'm doing, until Bonds breaks the record. Do yourselves a favor, seriously, make it a point to be near a television for this historic event. I know a lot of you are angry about the steroids. Others despise Bonds for being a surly jerk at times. I promise you though, you're going to kick yourself if you miss a moment that may never come again.

Sure, Alex Rodriguez could take it away from Bonds and probably will. But this is YOUR moment as baseball fans to witness something truly spectacular. When the camera bulbs flash and the game is stopped, all the drama, all the emotion will be released. And then the questions will begin:

Will Selig bother to clap this time? Last night, after Bonds tied the record, "Bonehead" Bud stood up and, rather than applaud the event, shoved his hands inside his front pockets. I don't know. Maybe that's how Selig always celebrates. I knew a kid in junior high school who stuck his hand inside his pants a lot and always seemed to smile about it. What the hell was Selig doing? If he wasn't going to acknowlege the event, why the hell would he bother showing up at all? Personally, the guy creeps me out. I'm not kidding. He frightens me. He looks like a James Bond villain.

Other questions to be answered after Bonds hits #756- how long will the game be stopped? Will it be uncomfortable for Bonds when he speaks? Will he lose his composure? How bad will the boos be? What will the announcers say to help frame the event?

Finally, did any of you catch the irony surrounding Clay Hensley, the Padres starter who threw the home run pitch? Ready? He once served a minor league suspension for...

STEROID USE.

Technorati Tags: free picks, Barry Bonds, Gambling
comedy, baseball, football