First Free NBA Pick of the Year

Here it is!

Historically the Free NBA Picks have been some of our best.

Suns -3 1/2 over the Clippers

Good luck this year!

NFL Week 7 Quick Hits

Brett Favre took a knee on the thought of an undefeated season in Week 7

Written by: MJK

Defeated in Steeltown- Its about time something slowed down that Brett Favre love train.  I mean seriously, I don’t think anyone has expected him to play as well as he has this year, but do we really want to keep feeding that beast? We all know what this offseason is going to entail so why contribute to the inevitable, ya know? If this Vikings squad was going to make any more of a march towards an undefeated regular season, than my Sunday morning ritual (which is really no different than my 3-S routine on any other day of the week) would have included a fourth S. Self induced vomiting.  The Steelers came to play with their usual “step yo game up” versus a legit opponent attitude and locked down the Vikings on pretty much all fronts.  Sure, the Ole Gunslinger had a comfortable 334 yards passing on 33 completions but the Steelers were able to keep him out of the endzone. Most importantly, they were able to limit running back Adrian Peterson to just 69 yards on the ground while taking advantage of two very opportunistic turnovers that were taken to the house.  All in all it was a recipe that worked as Pittsburgh looks to reassert itself atop the AFC North after a slow start to the year.

Cedric the Entertainer- Cincinnati running back Cedric Benson’s playing career was left for dead after three seasons in Chicago that probably had the same production equivalencies as a two year old trying to walk before it could crawl. Through his stint in the Windy City, he never eclipsed the 700 yard rushing mark, never garnered more than 4.1 yards per carry, never played all 16 games, and most importantly, was never able to win over his teammates and coaches (most of which probably was his own doing).  Compound that with two alcohol related arrests in a 5-week period and suddenly the former 4th overall draft pick found himself on the scrap heap after the Bears released him before the 2008 season began.  The Bengals swooped and since signing with Cincinnati during the early parts of last season, Benson has been both resurrected and vindicated.  Two weeks after breaking the Ravens 40 game streak of not having allowed a 100-yard rusher (he rushed for 120 yards in a week 5 victory), Benson and the Bengals squared off against his former team.  Not only did the team make Jay Cutler and company look like a pack of girl scouts pretending to know how to play football, but Benson laid out his Windy City demons with a stout 37-carry, 189 yard, 1 TD showcase that easily became his career best performance.  Through the first seven weeks Benson is the NFL’s leading rusher and a huge reason for much of the Bengals offensive success. 

Desert Storm- I find it almost laughable at how many people were writing off the Arizona Cardinals before they even played a down of football this season.  Everyone was pointing to a Super Bowl loser slump, or an aging Kurt Warner or a team that simply caught fire in the playoffs last season as excuses in not believe they could repeat in a NFC West division that is far from over powering.  Hopefully after a  very impressive showing against the Giants on national television, those doubters will turn into believers once more. They still offer one of the most explosive offenses in the league and an exciting and incredibly athletic defense that remains vastly underrated.  All that being said, I find myself wondering if they really were able to learn certain intangibles from last season’s run…as most good teams do. They have had one of the better home field advantages in the league over the past couple of seasons, but their inability to have consistent success on the road has held them back from making the step to the NFL’s next tier of teams to be reckoned with. Well on the contrary, this season has seen the team get off to a slow start at home with a 1-2 record (a trend that I assure you will reverse as the season carries on, already as many losses at home as all of last year) while also forcing the issue with an undefeated road record of 3-0 after gaining only 3 wins away from home all of last year. The latter I feel will not be a reversing trend. Sure, the team still has a long way to go before laying claim to continued postseason success but the lack of run they were getting before the season began was almost completely unwarranted. If they can keep showing this much poise on the road than...in the words of Kurt Warner…”Thank You Jeeeeeeeebus!.”

Speed round: 70 words or less

The good, the bad and the badder- The Jets, Packers, Chargers, Colts and Patriots all won their games by a combined score of 183-23 versus their opposition this weekend.  All five played teams with 2 wins or less.

Grandmama, oh no you di’int- Surprise, surprise, Larry Johnson is running his mouth more than his feet these days.  The has-been running back apparently felt the need to not only mutter discriminatory words but also felt compelled to defend himself with his riches via Twitter. Stay classy, LJ. He was told to stay away from the team today. Hey look at the bright side, at least hes not spittin on and pushing ladies around anymore…I guess. Will the real Grandmama please stand up?

The Saints doubled down…and hit paint- New Orleans climbed out of a 21 point hole and made yet another statement with a 46-34 victory down in Miami. With 80 combined points, there was more scoring going on here then a Fred Smoot run Minnesota Viking lake party cruise. Heyooooooooooooooo…bada bing.  

The strangest variation of a dude with two first names is…- Miles Austin? Oh yea. Not much to say here. Dallas is 2-0 since he took over as starter and he has accumulated 16 catches, 421 yards and 4 touchdowns the past two weeks. Pretty impressive.

Jake Del-Go-Homme- The Panthers have undoubtedly been one of the most disappointing teams of the season. Jake Delhomme is 99.9% of the reason why. Delhomme has thrown for as many or more picks then touchdowns in every single game this year.  Season totals? 4 TD’s and 13 INT’s. The Panthers just gave him a contract extension because? Awkward silence.

Plays of the Week- This weeks version features Desean Jackson, who may have now over taken Titans running back Chris Johnson as the most exciting player to watch in the NFL and a beautiful catch by Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, in what was probably the teams lone highlight versus the Chargers. 

Winning Week For Free NFL Picks

Maybe, just maybe, our Free NFL Picks will be getting back on track. They went 3-2 this week, and it's about time they start doing that more often. Here are our yearly results:

Free NFL Picks

Week 1: 4-5

Week 2: 1-1

Week 3: 3-1

Week 4: 0-4

Week 5: 3-1

Week 6: 2-2

Week 7: 3-2

Total: 16-16... 50%

Free NCAA Football Picks Back on Track

Our Free NCAA Football Picks have been chugging along quite nicely, but a 1-3 week derailed them a little last week. This week, we turned out a 3-2 week to at least get us back to our winning ways, and now stand at 58% this season.

Week 1: 2-1

Week 2: 1-2

Week 3: 3-1

Week 4: 3-1

Week 5: 3-4

Week 6: 3-0

Week 7: 1-3

Week 8: 3-2

Total: 19-14... 58%

Time For Our Free NFL Picks To Get Hot

Our Free NFL Picks have been hovering around .500 all year, but we're feeling good about our picks this week and look forward to getting over the hump in Week 7.

Packers -9 over Browns

Falcons +4 over Cowboys

Bengals PICK over Bears

Dolphins/Saints UNDER 47 1/2

Eagles/Redskins OVER 37 1/2

And here are our weekly results:

Free NFL Picks

Week 1: 4-5

Week 2: 1-1

Week 3: 3-1

Week 4: 0-4

Week 5: 3-1

Week 6: 2-2

Total: 13-14... 48%

As you can see, we're still trying to make up for a disastrous Week 4.

You can find more NFL Lines at Doc's Sports.

Good luck!

Free NCAA Picks Back For More

Not a great week for our Free NCAA Football Picks last week, but we look to rebound this week.

The dogs are barking this week, so we'll see how it goes. Here are the picks:

Virginia +6 over Georgia Tech

Bowling Green +9 over Central Michigan

UConn +7 1/2 over West Virginia

Oregon State +21 over USC

Oklahoma State -10 over Baylor

And our weekly results to date:

Week 1: 2-1

Week 2: 1-2

Week 3: 3-1

Week 4: 3-1

Week 5: 3-4

Week 6: 3-0

Week 7: 1-3

Total: 16-12... 57%

If you don't like what you see (you're blind!), you can always check out Doc's Sports College Football Handicapper.

Good luck!

NFL Week 6 Quick Hits

The Saints came marching into the Superdome...and left undefeated

- Hello viewers of the Stock Lemon.  My name is Mike and I have been so kindly invited to contribute to the blog in as colorful a way as possible.  I will be chiming in with blurbs on the sports world as we have all come to know and love. Thanks to the staff for signing me on and I look forward to helping out any way I can. Lets get to business.

Big Ups

Big Statement in the Big Easy- The Saints found more gaps in the NFL’s #1 ranked defense than a dentist finds in the mouth of Michael Strahan.  New Orleans scored early and often and now find themselves as one of four unbeaten teams left with a 6-0 record. The Giants have looked pretty unstoppable in recent weeks, which is why it was even more surprising to see them get whooped up like they did. It will be interesting to see if this beat down was the function of an undermanned Giants secondary simply getting exploited or if Drew Brees and company truly are THIS good.  Its gotta be a lot of both.  Brees was surgical with his passes.  He threw for 369 yards and 4 touchdowns while completing passes to seven different receivers.  Just another day at the office.  Even more impressive has been the stellar play of New Orleans’ defense this season.  Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has taken a scheme that has proven to work with other teams in seasons past and fortified it with guys like Jonathan Vilma, Roman Harper and Darren Sharper to form one of the better ball hawking units in the league.  Suddenly the balance of power in the NFC has taken an otherworldly shift towards the Big Easy. Well, for this week at least.

The Brady Bunch- We all should have known this day was coming. Brady, while being his normally efficient and effective self, has not gotten out of the gates with any sort of the flash that we remember from his insane 2007 season.  Some were questioning the health of his knee, while others just attributed it to the rust of taking a season off.  Well, he finally broke out in a big way in week 6. Brady threw for 5 touchdowns…in the 2^nd quarter, setting a new NFL record in the process while adding a 6^th early in the second half of what would turn out to be a 59-0 shellacking of the Tennessee Titans.  Brady hooked up with wide receivers Randy Moss and Wes Welker for an impressive 18 combined catches, 279 yards and 5 touchdowns. The Titans were without three defensive starters and Brady took full advantage before getting pulled early in the second half due to an overall competitive lack of interest on the Titans behalf. If this is a sign of things to come and not JUST Brady and the Pats taking advantage of an under achieving defense then the rest of the NFL should be on red alert. 

More Mojo than even Austin Powers can handle- It’s always nice when athletes talk the talk and then proceed to walk the walk. A week after voicing his displeasure with Jacksonville’s offense and calling himself the “second highest paid decoy behind Reggie Bush” running back Maurice Jones-Drew proved why he is such a key cog to the success of the Jaguars.  Mojo totaled 178 combined yards (33 carries 133 rushing, 5 catches 45 receiving) and 3 touchdowns in a dominant performance versus the lowly St. Louis Rams.

Low Downs

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…well you know- Mark Sanchez’s fast start seems like a distant memory.  Sanchez found success in the early goings of the season simply by not having to do much of anything.  The gameplan had him checking down and hitting intermediate routes without having to read an extensive amount of coverage downfield.  But it seems like as soon as he started to get comfortable with the learning curve of the NFL, the playbook opened up and since then the wheels have really fallen off.  Sanchez managed a respectable 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions through the teams 3-0 start. However, in 3 losses since Sanchez has only thrown 1 touchdown and a deplorable 8 interceptions, a far cry from the promise he was showing. This just goes to show that no matter how comfortable a rookie quarterback may look, they are simply not to be trusted. Unless of course your name is Matt Ryan.

Negatives are never positives…right?- A lot of blame can be passed around the Tennessee Titans locker room after the 59-0 debacle that was their week 6 game versus the Patriots. But when your starting quarterback completes just 2 passes for -7 yards, rushes three times for -1 yards and throws an interception… it seems like a safe place to start the finger pointing.  Last season Kerry Collins was the prototype for NFL game management. This season he has been completely the opposite and has already thrown more interceptions (8) then he did all of last year (7).  Tennessee’s’ defense has been in complete disarray all season long and decimated by injuries. So naturally the team has found its self down and out more often then not and Collins is not a quarterback that can lead a team with his arm if losing late in a game (case in point Week 6).  If Tennessee doesn’t give Vince Young a look at quarterback here very soon (like in week 8 after the bye week soon) then it would be baffling.  You would think they would at least want to know exactly what they have in VY.  You would think.

My ass is on FIRE!- The coaching hot seat is especially warm for a number of seasoned coaches this season and should provide  some interesting storylines down the stretch.  Jim Zorn surely finds himself on the hottest seat right now after the Redskins lost to yet another previously winless team and has now gotten his play calling duties stripped in favor of offensive “consultant” Sherm Lewis, aka “the dude whose gonna jack your job before the season is over.”  Good riddance.  Along those same lines, it is amazing to see how Norv Turner has surivived another dismal start to the season.  The talent on the Chargers is super bowl caliber and how Turner gets away with these under achieving coaching efforts year in and year out is almost the equivalent of getting away with murder. Its tough watching a team with this much talent wait until they have 4 losses and their backs against the wall before they decide to turn it on.  Also feeling the burn,  Dick Jauron (Buffalo),  Eric Mangini (Cleveland), John Fox (Carolina), Tom Cable (should go without saying, Oakland), (dare I say?) Jeff Fisher (Tennessee) and even though he got the dreaded vote of confidence from owner Jerry Jones last week, its tough to ask anyone to delay the inevitable, Wade Phillips (Dallas).

Play of the Week:

It’s a double homer edition this week as the Raiders got a helluva nice block from Louis Murphy to spring this Zach Miller touchdown and some extra help on the kick off coverage team.