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NFL Power Rankings: Week 9 edition

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:41:00 +0000

The Saints and Colts remained undefeated and kept hold of their top spots in the NFL Power Rankings.

TOP TIER
1. Saints (7-0) [1]
2. Colts (7-0) [2]
3. Vikings (7-1) [4]
4. Broncos (6-1) [3]
5. Patriots (5-2) [5]
6. Steelers (5-2) [6]
7. Cowboys (5-2) [7]
8. Bengals (5-2) [9]
9. Eagles (5-2) [12]
10. Ravens (4-3) [13]
11. Texans (5-3) [15]

The Texans are the most noticeable change, sliding into the Top Tier after going two games over .500 for the first time in their history... The Ravens knocked off the undefeated Broncos to move up three spots.

SECOND TIER
12. Cardinals (4-3) [8]
13. Falcons (4-3) [10]
14. Giants (5-3) [11]
15. Chargers (4-3) [16]
16. Dolphins (3-4) [18]
17. Bears (4-3) [20]
18. Packers (4-3) [14]
19. 49ers (3-4) [17]
20. Panthers (3-4) [24]
21. Jaguars (3-4) [19]
22. Jets (4-4) [21]
23. Bills (3-5) [22]

The Falcons and Giants continue to slide after both started the year high in the Power Rankings... I thought long and hard about putting the Jags, Jets and Bills in the Bottom Tier but I don't know if I'm ready to commit to that yet.

BOTTOM TIER
24. Seahawks (2-5) [23]
25. Raiders (2-6) [25]
26. Chiefs (1-6) [26]
27. Titans (1-6) [30]
28. Rams (1-7) [31]
29. Redskins (2-5) [29]
30. Lions (1-6) [27]
31. Browns (1-7) [28]
32. Buccaneers (0-7) [32]

The New York Yankees are World Champions for the 27th time

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:31:00 +0000

I've been very slow on the blogging lately, but you know I had to drop in for this one. The Yankees took Game 6 tonight and captured their 27th World Series title.

I'll be back tomorrow with more thoughts on the World Series victory and my weekly NFL Power Rankings, but until then I leave you with this celebratory photo.

Six Picks for Sunday - Week Eight results

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:41:00 +0000

Let's just say this wasn't my week when it came to predicting games. In fact, it hasn't been my season. Let's take a look at this week's results.

Tony's Picks
~~DEN~~, HOU, GB, ~~NYJ~~, ~~JAX~~, ~~NYG~~

Stuart's Picks
BAL, HOU, GB, ~~NYJ~~, TEN, PHI

The Rooster's Picks
BAL, HOU, GB, ~~NYJ~~, ~~JAX~~, PHI

Not surprisingly, Stu went 4-2 and again won the week. The Rooster was right there with a 3-3 performance and then... me. A pathetic 1-5 week to keep me firmly locked in the basement. Here are the overall standings.

Stuart (35-13)
The Rooster (27-21)
Tony (21-27)

Video: Manu Ginobili is the new Batman

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:03:00 +0000

So I'm sure you've seen this by now since it's been all over the interwebs, but I'm just getting around to some blogging and I had to post it. A bat got inside the AT&T Center during the Spurs-Kings game on Saturday night. Manu Ginobili was able to swat down the bat. Best part, he didn't even do that stupid Christian Bale voice!

I'm surprised no "bat rights" groups have come out of the woodwork after this one. Then again, it's only been a few days.

Six Picks for Sunday - Week Eight

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:42:00 +0000

Here we go again, time for another week of prognostications. These are determined by the six games with the closest spreads, although the games will be predicted straight up. Feel free to post your own picks in the comments section, and I'll keep you updated with the results throughout the season.

For the up-to-date results and standings, click here.

Denver Broncos @ Baltimore Ravens - Broncos
Houston Texans @ Buffalo Bills - Texans
Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers - Packers
Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets - Jets
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee Titans - Jaguars
New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles - Giants

The Ravens have a strong reputation but it hasn't been earning them much on the field this year. I like the Broncos to stay undefeated in Baltimore... The Bills are likely the worst team with more than two wins and the Texans are playing some really good football right now... Brett Favre used to play in Green Bay?! Get ready to get beaten over the head for the majority of each pregame show this Sunday about that storyline. I'll take the Packers at home even though their offensive line can't block anybody. As much as people say Favre doesn't care, I think the crowd may be a big factor... Something about this Jets-Dolphins game tells me playing at the Meadowlands will be an advantage for the Airplanes and the crushing loss to the Saints may still be lingering on the minds of the Fins... I have no idea why the spread is so close on this Titans-Jaguars game... The Eagles lost to the lowly Raiders and then beat the pathetic Redskins while the Giants lost to the Saints and Cardinals, two top teams in the league. This will, as usual, be a huge game for both teams but I see the Giants coming out on top in a nailbiter.

Congratulations! You're Dwight Howard's one millionth follower on Twitter!

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:31:00 +0000

So Dwight Howard reached the hallowed ground that is one million Twitter followers. Instead of just letting this go by without any celebration, he flew in the lucky one millionth follower to attend a game in Orlando. Check out the video for reaction from Howard and the winner.

Speaking of Twitter, you can follow me (@tonyblogs) and if I reach a million followers, I will probably not give anyone a prize, but I will be very happy with all of you.

NFL Power Rankings: Week 8 edition

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:30:00 +0000

The Saints hold steady at number one while the Falcons and Giants both fall five spots and into the second tier. Take a look at the entire Power Rankings for this week.

TOP TIER
1. Saints (6-0) [1]
2. Colts (6-0) [3]
3. Broncos (6-0) [4]
4. Vikings (6-1) [2]
5. Patriots (5-2) [7]
6. Steelers (5-2) [8]
7. Cowboys (4-2) [9]
8. Cardinals (4-2) [10]
9. Bengals (5-2) [11]

It looked like the Carson Palmer you always hear about finally showed up and the Bengals cruised to a big win over the Bears... The Steelers and Patriots both seem to be gaining big heads of steam... The Cowboys are looking more like the team everyone wants them to be.

SECOND TIER
10. Falcons (4-2) [5]
11. Giants (5-2) [6]
12. Eagles (4-2) [13]
13. Ravens (3-3) [12]
14. Packers (4-2) [16]
15. Texans (4-3) [18]
16. Chargers (3-3) [21]
17. 49ers (3-3) [15]
18. Dolphins (2-4) [17]
19. Jaguars (3-3) [19]
20. Bears (3-3) [14]
21. Jets (4-3) [22]

The Falcons and Giants both lost and while they weren't to terrible terms, they were games each team should have won... The Eagles move up just a bit after beating the lifeless Redskins and can make up big ground this weekend if they take down the G-Men in Philly... The Texans fended off a late comeback attempt by Alex Smith and the 49ers and Matt Schaub is having a hell of a season... The Dolphins only drop one spot after almost beating the top ranked Saints.

THIRD TIER
22. Bills (3-4) [24]
23. Seahawks (2-4) [23]
24. Panthers (2-4) [20]
25. Raiders (2-5) [25]
26. Chiefs (1-6) [26]
27. Lions (1-5) [27]
28. Browns (1-6) [28]
29. Redskins (2-5) [29]
30. Titans (0-6) [30]
31. Rams (0-7) [31]
32. Buccaneers (0-7) [32]

Only three spots are different in this week's bottom tier... The bottom nine teams are all really, really bad.

Dropping Links: Wednesday, October 28, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:15:00 +0000

Six Picks for Sunday - Week Seven results

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:23:00 +0000

We're already seven weeks and 42 selections into out Six Picks for Sunday competition. Let's take a look at last week's results and see how we all stack up at this point.

Tony's Picks
SD, CIN, PIT, HOU, NYJ, ~~ATL~~

Stuart's Picks
SD, CIN, PIT, HOU, NYJ, DAL

The Rooster's Picks
SD, CIN, PIT, HOU, NYJ, ~~ATL~~

Even less variation than the previous week and, once again, Stu comes in with a perfect 6-0 mark, followed by The Rooster and I with 5-1 records. And now, the overall standings.

Stuart (31-11)
The Rooster (24-18)
Tony (20-22)

Stuart is absolutely killing it right now and has a nice seven game lead over The Rooster. I pulled a lot closer to the .500 mark this week, but still look pretty foolish with my two-games-under record. As they say, though, it's a long season.

Dropping Links: Tuesday, October 27, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:15:00 +0000

2009-2010 NBA season preview and predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:17:00 +0000

The NBA season tips off Tuesday with four games, two of them broadcast nationally. The Celtics head to Cleveland to battle the Cavs at 7:30, followed by a Clippers-Lakers showdown at 10:30, both on TNT. The Wizards also take on the Mavericks in Dallas at 8:30 EST while the Rockets and Blazers go at it in Portland at 10:00 EST.

There were a lot of shake-ups this offseason, mostly involving the power teams in the Association. The Cavs added Shaquille O'Neal, Boston brought in Rasheed Wallace, the Spurs got Richard Jefferson, the defending-champion Lakers added Ron Artest and the Eastern conference champion Magic traded for Vince Carter. Meanwhile Detroit tried to return to its previous prominence by acquiring former UConn standouts Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon. It should be interesting to see if the gap between the elite teams and those below widens even further.

Without further ado, let's get to the predictions. Playoff teams are indicated by an asterisk (*).

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Boston Celtics*
Toronto Raptors*
Philadelphia 76ers*
New York Knicks
New Jersey Nets

Central Division
Cleveland Cavaliers*
Detroit Pistons*
Chicago Bulls
Milwaukee Bucks
Indiana Pacers

Southeast Division
Orlando Magic*
Miami Heat*
Atlanta Hawks*
Charlotte Bobcats
Washington Wizards

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
Denver Nuggets*
Utah Jazz*
Portland Trail Blazers*
Oklahoma City Thunder
Minnesota Timberwolves

Pacific Division
Los Angeles Lakers*
Phoenix Suns*
Los Angeles Clippers
Golden State Warriors
Sacramento Kings

Southwest Division
San Antonio Spurs*
New Orleans Hornets*
Dallas Mavericks*
Houston Rockets
Memphis Grizzlies

2010 NBA FINALS
LA Lakers defeat Boston Celtics

I think we see a rematch of the 2008 Finals. The Lakers are undoubtedly the best team in the league with the addition of Ron Artest, if he can keep his head on his shoulders. The same could be said of Rasheed Wallace, who brings a lot to the table for the Celtics if he can keep his act in check. If Kevin Garnett is healthy all season, Boston will be poised for one more (perhaps final) serious run.

Videos: Get ready for the NBA season with their "Anticipation" series

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:18:00 +0000

The '09-'10 NBA season tips off with a slate of games tomorrow night so to get ready the NBA has been releasing their collection of "Anticipation" videos on YouTube. They are voiced by Kobe Bryant and, as always, the NBA does a great job with their video work. Take a look at a few of them below.

Lookalikes: Jorge Posada and Ratatouille

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:13:00 +0000

As you know, I'm a Yankees fan, so this one is good old fashioned fun. It comes to us from new blog friend Perez Solomon, who has some great stuff on his blog so be sure to check it out.

Dropping Links: Monday, October 26, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:35:00 +0000

Steve Phillips fired by ESPN following affair with production assistant

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:52:00 +0000

From ESPN's Mike Soltys, via Fang's Bites, comes word that ESPN has fired Steve Phillips following his much publicized tryst with a 22-year-old production assistant. The affair became public this week when the New York Post and Deadspin, both basically one step above the Enquirer in terms of class, broke the news.

Here is the official tweet from Soltys:

Steve Phillips is no longer working for ESPN. His ability to be an effective rep of ESPN has been significantly & irreparably damaged.

Video: Lakers' bench finds a great way to get around "No Standing" rule

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:09:00 +0000

This clip comes to us from Ball Don't Lie. As you may know, the NBA instituted a new rule that restricts players from standing while they are on the bench since it blocks the view of the people in the heftily priced front row seats. Maybe the NBA should switch to the "raised court" setup that the NCAA has used in the past few years for big games, but I digress. The Lakers had to find a new ritual instead of the usual one of standing until your team makes a basket. What they came up with is great and, as BDL's J.E. Skeets points out, right out of Major League.

Six Picks for Sunday - Week Seven

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:02:00 +0000

It's time for another week of prognostications, so let's get at it. These are determined by the six games with the closest spreads, although the games will be predicted straight up. Feel free to post your own picks in the comments section, and I'll keep you updated with the results throughout the season.

For the up-to-date results and standings, click here.

San Diego Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs - Chargers
Chicago Bears @ Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals
Minnesota Vikings @ Pittsburgh Steelers - Steelers
San Francisco 49ers @ Houston Texans - Texans
New York Jets @ Oakland Raiders - Jets
Atlanta Falcons @ Dallas Cowboys - Falcons

The Chargers have looked less-than-stellar this season but I'll take them at Arrowhead... Bears-Bengals is quite the toss-up, so I'll take Cincinnati at home... I'm taking the Steelers mostly because of their strong run defense. If they shut down Adrian Peterson and force Brett Favre to start "gunslinging" all over the place, it could be a good day for Pittsburgh's defense... I'll take the Texans to keep their momentum going. The addition of Michael Crabtree to the 49ers' offense will be a nice fit, but probably not right away... So much of me wants to take the Raiders at home, coming off their win against the Eagles, and right after the Jets looked like a UFL team against the Bills, but I just can't. I doubt Mark Sanchez will have a game as bad as he had last week and I've been burned too many times by the Jets to pick against them again... Give me the Falcons since I've been saying all along that the Cowpokes are overrated.

Video: Top Ten plays of the 2008-2009 NBA preseason

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:20:00 +0000

Continuing our collection of NBA-related Top Ten videos, this is the top ten plays of this year's preseason. Take a look and enjoy the feast.

NFL Power Rankings: Week 7 edition

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:09:00 +0000

A lot of movement going on as we head into Week 7 after a Week 6 that saw the Giants get stomped by the Saints, the Vikings hold on against the Ravens, the Patriots return to their old form and the Jets fall mightily.

TOP TIER
1. Saints (5-0) [4]
2. Vikings (6-0) [3]
3. Colts (5-0) [2]
4. Broncos (6-0) [5]
5. Falcons (4-1) [6]
6. Giants (5-1) [1]
7. Patriots (4-2) [11]
8. Steelers (4-2) [12]
9. Cowboys (3-2) [13]
10. Cardinals (3-2) [16]

Hard to penalize the Colts because of their bye week but the Saints looked very impressive against the previously No. 1 ranked Giants... The Vikings held on, thanks to a missed field goal at the end of the game, and slid up to No. 2... The Cowboys moved way up during their bye simply because all the middle of the pack teams struggled this week.

SECOND TIER
11. Bengals (4-2) [8]
12. Ravens (3-3) [10]
13. Eagles (3-2) [7]
14. Bears (3-2) [9]
15. 49ers (3-2) [17]
16. Packers (3-2) [19]
17. Dolphins (2-3) [18]
18. Texans (3-3) [22]
19. Jaguars (3-3) [21]
20. Panthers (2-3) [23]
21. Chargers (2-3) [15]

The Eagles lost to the Raiders, widely considered by many as the worst team in football, dropping them six spots... Not a whole lot going on here, but soon it gets interesting.

THIRD TIER
22. Jets (3-3) [14]
23. Seahawks (2-4) [20]
24. Bills (2-4) [28]
25. Raiders (2-4) [32]
26. Chiefs (1-5) [29]
27. Lions (1-5) [25]
28. Browns (1-5) [26]
29. Redskins (2-4) [27]
30. Titans (0-6) [24]
31. Rams (0-6) [30]
32. Buccaneers (0-6) [31]

The Jets drop eight spots after playing one of the worst games I've ever seen. Mark Sanchez looked like the rookie he is while throwing five interceptions and they almost tied with the Bills before losing in overtime... The Titans drop six spots and have to be the most disappointing team in recent memory... You can't blame the Titans' lack of success on the loss of Albert Haynesworth since he isn't doing too much for his new team. The Redskins are an absolute mess right now.

Dropping Links: Tuesday, October 20, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:15:00 +0000

Six Picks for Sunday - Week Six results

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:32:00 +0000

Stuart continues his impressive run in our Six Picks for Sunday competition and maintains his first place position.

Tony's Picks
~~CIN~~, MIN, ~~NYG~~, CAR, ~~SEA~~, ATL

Stuart's Picks
~~CIN~~, MIN, NO, CAR, ~~SEA~~, ATL

The Rooster's Picks
~~CIN~~, ~~BAL~~, ~~NYG~~, CAR, ~~SEA~~, ATL

Not a whole lot of variation there as we all drank the Seattle Kool Aid and also chose the Panthers and Falcons. Stu goes 4-2 this week, while I pull in second at 3-3 and The Rooster comes in at 2-4. The Vikings holding on to beat the Ravens thanks to a missed field goal proved to be a vital game in the scheme of things.

Let's take a look at the overall standings.

Stuart (25-11)
The Rooster (19-17)
Tony (15-21)

Dropping Links: Monday, October 19, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:15:00 +0000

Six Picks for Sunday - Week Six

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:25:00 +0000

It's time for another week of prognostications, so let's get at it. These are determined by the six games with the closest spreads, although the games will be predicted straight up. Feel free to post your own picks in the comments section, and I'll keep you updated with the results throughout the season.

For the up-to-date results and standings, click here.

Houston Texans @ Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals
Baltimore Ravens @ Minnesota Vikings - Vikings
New York Giants @ New Orleans Saints - Giants
Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Panthers
Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks - Seahawks
Chicago Bears @ Atlanta Falcons - Falcons

I'm not sure how "for real" the Bengals are yet but the Texans have been way too inconsistent to take them on the road against a team that is as hot as Cincinnati... Baltimore-Minnesota is going to be a very good game and will be shown in a lot of the country on CBS. If Cedric Benson was able to rush for over 100 yards against the Ravens' defense, imagine what Adrian Peterson might be able to do... This might be the homer in me coming out but I'll take the G-Men in Louisiana. New York's secondary has surprisingly been one of their great strengths and I don't think Eli Manning will make the mistakes that other quarterbacks have made against the Saints' defense... I hate to use the transitive property but the Panthers just (barely) beat the Redskins, and the 'Skins (barely) beat the Bucs, so there you go... The Seahawks went crazy on the Jaguars last week and the Cardinals haven't look very good this year... Falcons-Bears is another good Sunday night matchup. I'll take the Falcons but this one will be very, very close.

Dropping Links: Friday, October 16, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:15:00 +0000

As you've noticed, I've been slacking when it comes to updating the site on a regular basis. I sound like a broken record but, again, my apologies for the situation. Other duties have called but I'll be continuing with the Six Picks for Sunday and the weekly Power Rankings and sprinkle in some other great stuff while I can. Thanks for checking back!

NEWS
Phillies take NLCS Game 1 from Dodgers in Los Angeles |MLB.com|
Joe Reyes expects to be ready for Spring Training |CBS Sports.com|
Redskins players want a vote of confidence for Jim Zorn |ESPN.com|
Rush Limbaugh is angry about the whole Rams debacle |FOX Sports.com|
Albert Pujols is in no hurry to accept contract extension |SI.com|

Dropping Links: Thursday, October 15, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Tony Arnoldine) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:15:00 +0000