Dolphins at Bengals Bengals: It'll be a close game that could go either way. Packers at Colts Packers: Expect Rodgers to have a big game and get back into the passing grove. Should be a blowout.
Ravens at Chiefs Chiefs: Ravens run defense is a good as they were in the past. Jamal Charles will have a big game.
Falcons at Redskins Redskins: Last week Falcons showed that they aren't unbeatable. They're going to face another mobile quarterback, whose confidence is ridding high.
Browns at Giants Giants: Should bounce back at home.
Eagles at Steelers Steelers: With their two defensive stars back from the disable list the fans as well as the team should be fired up to play.
Seahawks at Panthers Panthers: Russell Wilson isn't as good as people thought.
Bears at Jaguars Bears: If Cutler is in a good mood the Bears should roll over the Jaguars.
Titans at Vikings Vikings: At home and with Locker out the defensive line of the Vikings will be chomping at the bit.
Broncos at Patriots Patriots: Bill knows how to game plan for Peyton. Being on a new team, Peyton's teammates won't be able to overcome the scheme that will be thrown at them.
Bills at 49ers 49ers: If the Patriots can run wild last week, what do you think the run heavy 49ers will do.
Chargers at Saints Saints: I can't see Bree's allowing his team to lose on the night he'll probably surpass another milestone in his career.
Texans at Jets Texans: It's going to get ugly and I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't Tebow time after the half.
For the past couple of years especially after players such as Bonds, McGwire, Sosa and Clemens were crucified for taking performance enhancing drugs, I've heard many announce the death of baseball. With the homerun record tainted and big names such as Jeter, Chipper Jones and Alex Rodriguez getting older. I wondered if those talking heads were right. Was baseball going to become insignificant? I think the 2012 season has proven that baseball is going to make a comeback. With the old farts getting older a new crop of superstars have arrived. From the MVP caliber play of Mike Trout to the dominating pitching of Stephen Strausburg. There are dozens of young players making a name for themselves this season. Here are just some of the players that make me think baseball's future is safe. 26 Years And Younger 1. Mike Trout (CF): 21 years old Stats: .325 BA, 30 HR, 83 RBI, 129 Runs, 48 SB
Having one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time and possibly an MVP season. This youngster is a cocktail of speed and power. Barring any injuries, he could become the greatest player since Barry Bonds (younger version). 2. Bryce Harper (CF): 19 years old Stats: .270 BA, 22 HR, 59 RBI, 97 Runs, 18 SB If it wasn't for Trout, Harper would be getting more of the buzz. He was one of the most hyped young players in the off season. 3. Stephen Strausburg (SP): 24 years old Stats: 3.16 ERA, 15-6 W-L, 197 SO These numbers could even be better if it weren't for that stupid inning rule. I really hope this doesn't bite the Nationals in the butt during the post season. Unless they're playing my Braves. 4. Jason Heyward (RF): 23 years old Stats: .267 BA, 27 HR, 82 RBI, 91 Runs, 20 SB With Chipper Jones retiring, Jason and the other youthful Braves will become the face of the franchise. I think the Braves future is looking as bright as it has since the Braves of the 90's. 5. Craig Kimbrel (RP): 24 years old Stats: 1.02 ERA, 42 SV, 113 SO One of the most dominating young closers in the majors. 6. Kris Medlen (SP): 26 years old Stats: 1.57 ERA, 10-1 W-L, 120 SO Coming off of injury, Kris has been lights out for the Braves. After being put into the starting lineup, he has possibly become the most dominating pitcher in the majors. The stats he accumulated has been after starting only 12 games. Can you imagine what it would look like if he had a full season under his belt. 7. Evan Longoria (3B): 26 years old Stats: .283 BA, 14 HR, 52 RBI, 36 Runs, 2 SB
It's a down season for Longoria but I don't expect it to be a trend. Just last year he had 31 HR's and 99 RBI's. 8. Felix Hernandez (SP): 26 years old Stats: 3.06 ERA, 13-9 W-L, 223 SO
Can you imagine what his stats would like if he was on a better team.
9. Buster Posey (C): 25 years old Stats: .337 BA, 24 HR, 102 RBI, 78 Runs, 1 SB After a horrible injury last week he has really bounced back this year. 10. Andrew McCutchen (CF): 25 years old Stats: .327 BA, 31 HR, 96 RBI, 107 Runs, 20 SB The biggest star on the Pirates. The team has a bright future if they can hold on to him. 11. Giancarlo Stanton (RF): 22 years old Stats: .291 BA, 37 HR, 86 RBI, 75 Runs, 6 SB Can you imagine how bad this team would be without him. I smell another Miguel Cabrera in a few years. 12. Clayton Kershaw (SP): 24 years old Stats: 2.58 ERA, 13-9 W-L, 221 SO The Dodgers resurgence will be based on Matt Kemp and Clayton's arm or the health of it. 13. Carlos Gonzalez (LF): 26 years old Stats: .303 BA, 22 HR, 85 RBI, 89 Runs, 20 SB What a surprise. Another power hitter coming out of Colorado. 14. Yoenis Cespedes (LF): 26 years old Stats: .289 BA, 23 HR, 82 RBI, 69 Runs, 16 SB A big reason why the A's are good this year.
Here is a highlight reel of Mike Trout, the future of MLB.
In honor of the Bullsh@! card game I played in the "Bear Cave" at my high school. I'm going to start a continual blog posts about things I see that make me want to call Bullsh@!. For those of you who have never played this game, you can check out the rules at this link. My first call is on the NFL saying that they're goal is to protect the players and the "Shield" of football. After last night's Monday Night Football game and the entire season for that matter, I think it's clear that the NFL only cares about the bottom line. If you don't know what I'm talking about take a look at the video on this ESPN link. What's more dangerous to the integrity of the league then referees blowing a call that the majority of analysis and even fans can see was blown. To be honest, the game hasn't knocked the Packers out of the playoffs, however, after time passes we'll learn how important that one loss could be.
In addition, these new referees don't know how to break up dog piles.
Their inability to quickly disperse the players and control the scene has been leading to skirmishes on the field that may lead to baseball like clearing of the benches.
Wouldn't that be great for the game and the safety of players.
What makes it worse is that the NFL has come out and said the call was good. We all know that's bullsh@!. Even Herm Edwards knows.
My picks sucked just as bad the refs this weekend. Maybe I sucked because of the refs but all I can say about this week is that the NFL gotta get things straight or else gamblers are going to revolt. If the officials don't change I'm going to just pick home teams in Week 4 because I don't think these boys are able to handle the pressure of the massive crowds they face. This season is INSANITY!
Week 3 = 6 out of 15 (40%)
Rams at Bears Bears - First out door game of the season. Chicago defense will eat up another young quarterback.
23 - 6 Bears
Bills at Browns Browns - CJ Spiller will be hard to stop but the Bills haven't been able to stop anyone else.
24 - 14 Bills
Buccaneers at Cowboys Cowboys - Rob Ryan's defense is going to show the Buccaneers coach what is hard nosed football.
16 - 10 Cowboys
Jets at Dolphins Jets - The defense should bounce back.
23 - 20 Jets
49ers at Vikings 49ers - They will hit'em in the mouth both on offense and defense. 24 - 13 Vikings
Chiefs at Saints Saints - Brees and the Saints will get their first win behind a ruckus crowd. 27 - 24 Chiefs
Bengals at Redskins Bengals - Bengals offense should have a big game against a depleted defense.
38 - 31 Bengals
Lions at Titans Lions - If the Titans cannot run they're going to get passed out of their building. 44 - 41 Titans
Jaguars at Colts Colts - Luck has gotten back into his grove and should pick up another win at home. 22 - 17 Jaguars
Eagles at Cardinals Cardinals - The unlikely unbeaten Cardinals will shock the world because their stellar defense.
27 - 6 Cardinals
Falcons at Chargers Falcons - Chargers won't be able to handle the Falcons, who look poised to make a run at the Super Bowl. 27 - 3 Falcons
Texans at Broncos Broncos - Peyton will have another week with his teammates and usually plays well against the Texans. 31 - 25 Texans
Steelers at Raiders Steelers - Without an effective running game, Raiders have no chance. 34 - 31 Raiders
Patriots at Ravens Patriots - Probably the game of the week. Bill will have his guys ready for this game.
31 - 30 Ravens
Packers at Seahawks Packers - Rodgers will finally break through with a big game on the road. 14-12 Seahawks
Several weeks ago I decided to jump back on the horse and start exercising again. Hoping to find success, I've decided to set an achievable short-term goal. Five days out of the week, I need to exercise for at least 30 minutes. What makes up an exercise? 1. P90X 2. Jogging 3. Walking with my family through the park while pushing my daughter in her stroller. 4. Swimming at the beach. 5. Running around in the backyard with my daughter. Exercise is pretty much anything that gets my butt off the couch. So far I've done okay and seen some results. My "Uncle Belly" is shrinking and I don't have to hold my breath when I tie my shoes. However, there are still days that I feel like being lazy and when I do, I try to imagine my daughter. Do I want to see her grow up and have a family of her own? Do I want to be an active father or an out of breath daddy? Do I want my grandchildren to see me able bodied? These and many other questions flash through my head as I struggle with my weight. My baby girl has been a great inspiration to me and at times has coached me to push harder. Believe it or not, she enjoys doing P90X with me. She tries to do push ups (Only 2 years and 4 months old) and usually can do a few on her knees. One day, I was laying on my stomach, exhausted and out of breath. My little inspiration looked up at the tv and realized it wasn't time to stop and so she proceeded to yank me up and tell me "Get up daddy. Get up." Looking into her sweet eyes, I smiled and gave it one more push. Burning out my arms, I lay on the ground a few more seconds and smiled. I had done more then I thought I could. Thanks to my little inspiration.
This is a short clip of a push up session my daughter and I had together. Just in case you didn't believe me.
Rams at Chicago Chicago - First out door game of the season. Chicago defense will eat up another young quarterback.
Bills at Browns Browns - CJ Spiller will be hard to stop but the Bills haven't been able to stop anyone else.
Buccaneers at Cowboys Cowboys - Rob Ryan's defense is going to show the Buccaneers coach what is hard nosed football.
Jets at Dolphins Jets - The defense should bounce back.
49ers at Vikings 49ers - They will hit'em in the mouth both on offense and defense.
Chiefs at Saints Saints - Brees and the Saints will get their first win behind a ruckus crowd.
Bengals at Redskins Bengals - Bengals offense should have a big game against a depleted defense.
Lions at Titans Lions - If the Titans cannot run they're going to get passed out of their building.
Jaguars at Colts Colts - Luck has gotten back into his grove and should pick up another win at home.
Eagles at Cardinals Cardinals - The unlikely unbeaten Cardinals will shock the world because their stellar defense.
Falcons at Chargers Falcons - Chargers won't be able to handle the Falcons, who look poised to make a run at the Super Bowl.
Texans at Broncos Broncos - Peyton will have another week with his teammates and usually plays well against the Texans.
Steelers at Raiders Steelers - Without an effective running game, Raiders have no chance. Patriots at Ravens Patriots - Probably the game of the week. Bill will have his guys ready for this game. Packers at Seahawks Packers - Rodgers will finally break through with a big game on the road.
How much tv do you think Americans watch in a day? Based on data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2011, Americans on average watch about 2.8 hours a day (15 years of age and up). How does that stack up against other leisure activities (hanging out with friends, going to parties, playing outside)? Based on the same data, tv is number one and that probably won't change with 3D, LED, Blu Ray entertainment becoming affordable. Heck, I'd rather watch a sporting event on a flat screen tv then watch it live. Now we have Viggle. A program that can be downloaded to your IPad or Smart Phone that allows you to get points while watching tv. So while you're watching American Idol you get a point for every minute that you watch. Then once you collect enough points you can redeem them for awesome prizes like movie tickets, ipod touch, kindle fire, apple tv and many other prizes. You might be thinking that this sounds to good to be true. It is in the sense that getting enough points to get one of the big item prizes is almost impossible especially since prizes come and go. They aren't indefinite. However, the prizes are very real. Here are some of the prizes I've received: $5 dollar coupon for Burger King I've been able to watch many of the blockbuster movies for free (not counting popcorn and drinks). The Avengers Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Brave Battleship Snow White and the Huntsman Madagascar 3 Ted Step Up Revolution Expendables 2 The Cabin in the Woods The Hunger Games Wrath of the Titans So here you go. The cold hard truth is that now you can watch tv and it can get you somewhere. It may not be good for your health or social life but you could watch a ton of movies or get that kindle you always wanted. Proceed at your own risk.
