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Week 12 NFL Review: The Good, the Bad and the Needy

Posted in NFL by Seth Cox on November 30th, 2011

Week 12 has come and gone and anyone can give you breakdowns of the big games, but what about those that likes the little guys? This week we take a look at The Good, The Bad and the Needy, in our week 12 review, as always with a little slant towards the 2012 NFL Draft.

As always any questions about your team and the draft feel free to hit me up at thesportsheadquarters@gmail.com or on Twitter @sethcoxtshq.

On to the “little guys”

Arizona 23 St Louis 20

The Good- Beanie Wells was a man amongst boys on Sunday, even if the boys were the worst run defense in the NFL this season. We all know the numbers, 228 yards 1TD new franchise record, but what is more important is the way he is running with a purpose, with authority, and while injured. Some, maybe even myself in times of ignorance, have questioned the anatomy to which Wells possesses, and this season he is proving that he can run, be productive and be an every down back in the league. I am excited to see what he can do with a little help in Ryan Williams when he is healthy next year, and maybe with the improved defense of the Cardinals, we as fans can be excited about what is happening.

As for the Rams, not much can go in this section other than the pass defense, which was great and Nick Miller, high school alum that I was fortunate enough to play football and baseball with. Limiting Larry Fitzgerald to 3 catches for 55 yards and picking off two John Skelton passes. The Rams dline continues to improve under Spags in what will almost certainly be his last season at the helm, but he has built a nice foundation on the defensive front for the next coach.

The Bad- John Skelton has worn out his welcome as a starting QB in the NFL. He has a great record, 3-1 as a starter, but has a 57.3 quarterback rating and is almost at a 1-2 TD/INT ratio. I know some experts thought he would be able to hold off Kevin Kolb when he got healthy, but as I have been saying for weeks, the ability isn’t there yet.

Sam Bradford typically takes a beating from me and I have screamed of his overratedness since draft time, but I can’t even argue that the Rams may have the worst; most injury decimated offensive line in the league. With the second or third pick in the upcoming draft one would expect another lineman taken, except they have been burned and bad, in recent drafts with selecting offensive line help that high.

Needs and Possibilities: Cards are picking at eighth right now, and will be in a battle to get help at OT and LB. With someone like Jonathan Martin or Riley Reiff giving them a legit LT. The OLB corps in the draft are thin this high, but they could look deep in the 3rd or 4th round, and even maybe make a run at Anthony Spencer, a free agent OLB from Dallas who would fit nicely in their 34 scheme.

Rams are looking at the third pick in the draft, and will have a plethora of options to choose from for their many needs. They will most likely select Justin Blackmon to give Bradford a legitimate weapon at WR or Matt Kalil a left tackle that can protect the large investment they have made in Sam, and realistically at 3 this won’t be their choice, but they will snatch up whoever Minnesota passes up.

TSHQ’s SSR Poll After Week 13: The Top 15 Teams in America

Posted in College Football, Poll, SEC is the bomb diggity by Bryan Doherty on November 30th, 2011

One more week before we find out what we’ve all been waiting the whole year for: who plays for the national title. Only problem is K.M and I really aren’t waiting on much. We told you on November 5th at about 11:30 PM that if Oklahoma State lost a game it was Alabama-LSU again and that nobody else was deserving. Unlike our gambling picks, the CFB landscape obliged to that statement and now we’re looking at Alabama-LSU part 2. Disagree? Only if you’re dumb. No room for debate. It’s the only correct choice. Still it’s not all about the top 2 teams so we’re back to set the record straight on the rest of the top 15, SSR style.

Some didn’t take kindly to our proclamations last week and I was even called unprofessional. Very hurtful words to say to someone who speaks the truth. It’d be like calling Houston Nutt unprofessional for saying his team is a bunch of quitters. Sometimes the truth has to be told and that’s all there is to it. We did that last week. But we’ll give you, the readers, two more weeks of the best poll there is. You know how it works. K.M and I rank our top 15 teams. 1st place votes are worth 15 points, 15th place votes worth 1, with corresponding figures going up and down. Add up our points per team and BOOM…..a combined ranking system. There’s no arbitrary rules. You can win and drop. You may even lose and rise. We don’t follow the little unwritten rules of CFB polls. We don’t care if we piss you off. We’re here strictly to give the most accurate portrayal of the nation’s top 15 teams. So here they are….

1) LSU Tigers (Bryan: 1st, K.M: 1st)- 30 points

Bryan: LSU is on the verge of something no team in the BCS era and probably few EVER can claim: beating the 2nd best team in America TWICE in the same season. Should LSU go on to beat Georgia (expected) and Alabama again, the next question I’ll be asking is where does this season rank all-time? Their resume’ will be all but unmatched. Where does this team rank among the all-time greats will also pop up. LSU is all but in. They’re going to go to the SEC title game and be favored by double digits. So here’s the deal. 60-0 or more. That’s it. Georgia, win by 60+ while throwing a shutout and LSU will drop to 3rd on my poll. Anything less than a 60 point margin of victory while throwing a shutout and win or lose, LSU will retain top 2 status in my poll after the conference championship games. It’s your time Georgia. Try to help the rest of the country. Remember, 60-0.

Trending: Where the hell do you think?

K.M: Ever seen a team beat the #2 ranked team twice and the #3 ranked team twice in one single season? Hell, Virginia Tech has only beat a top 5 team 1 time in the history of it’s program. LSU may do it four times in one season. SICK. Listen, LSU is #1 to me this week, #1 to me after the SEC CG, no matter what happens, and after they beat Bama in New Orleans, they will be #1 to end the season. I had them #1 at the start of the year, every week during the year, and I’m not going to stop ranking them #1 until they lift that crystal ugly trophy and Les tells everyone to have a nice day.

Trending: Maybe up, maybe I will invent a number above #1 to elevate LSU higher then they are now.

2) Alabama Crimson Tide (K.M: 2nd, Bryan: 2nd)- 28 points

K.M: Well, if it isn’t Alabama, locked into the #2 spot. At the beginning of the year, who on earth predicted an LSU/Alabama national title game? OH WAIT I DID! Coming off my Mavs in 6 over the Heat PRESEASON basketball finals prediction, which for those who have forgot I nailed exactly, I’ve followed it up by predicting the exact BCS Title Game, a game that nobody else thought was even feasible. ALL HAIL ME. And also, give some love to the Tide, much as it pains me to ask that of you. But Alabama is nasty. They may well be, on paper, better then LSU. Thankfully, LSU has The Hat, so paper gets eaten before it gets read, but Alabama is disgustingly good. The only team worthy to step on the field with LSU and compete for the national title that is so rightfully LSU’s. A tip of the cap to you, Bama. Now PREPARE TO DIE! LSU! LSU! LSU!

Trending: Nowhere. I don’t care what anyone below Bama does, or even if LSU beats Bama by 100 in the national title, this team is not going down. And Miles owns Saban, so they can’t move up.

Bryan: Welcome to the national championship. With the week off, it’s merely sit and wait in my book to see if you wear the home or away jerseys. Oklahoma State can’t pass you in my poll. Not after the way you convincingly won today. Is Auburn great? No. Far from it. But your lead over Oklahoma State after their loss to Iowa St was so large to me that the only way I would have considered dropping you below 2 was with a loss or very unimpressive win. Neither was the case so at the end of the season, you’ll be in my national title game. No Nick Saban, that doesn’t mean much, you’re right. But I can only hope the BCS and CFB is as wise as I am. You honestly showed me more in a 3-point loss to LSU than you did in any win. You showed me more in a 3-point loss than ANY team in America (besides LSU) did in their wins. I KNOW you can play with LSU, win or lose. I can’t say that about anyone else. In fact, I don’t think anyone else can. I think LSU is 10-14 points better than any other team in CFB. So lets play Round 2. It’s the only shot at the national title.

Trending: Down the road to the Superdome.

T3) Oklahoma State Cowboys (Bryan: 3rd, K.M: 4th)- 25 points

Bryan: Bye week coming off Iowa State loss + Oklahoma team who now has 2 losses and looks far from national title worthy + Alabama blowing out Auburn in their last game = Oklahoma State out of national title race in my book. Win Bedlam and enjoy the Fiesta please.

Trending: Irrelevant

K.M: Bedlam! Sweet! A game worthy of your eyeballs. Enjoy Bedlam, Okie State, it’s for a conference title, which is the last title you will be playing for this season.

Trending: I don’t care

T3) Oregon Ducks (K.M: 3rd, Bryan: 4th)- 25 points

K.M: I hope one day in my life I have to defeat an opponent of the caliber of UCLA in order to get some big reward like a conference title. That would be nice.

Trending: Don’t bother me with such lame questions.

Bryan: Demolished a bad Oregon State team. Now get the distinction of maybe biggest favorite in conference title game history. Enjoy the Rose Bowl. Either opponent will make for a GREAT game.

Trending: Irrelevant

5) Arkansas Razorbacks (Bryan: 5th, K.M: 5th)- 22 points

Bryan: Maybe still the 3rd best team in America. Only two non-SEC teams I’d consider taking on a field over you I have in front of you. What we did find out was the answer to my question last week. You’re not Alabama or LSU quality. Which in reality is fine. I mean, that’s like being a distant 3rd place in the Miss Universe Pageant. I mean, 3rd hottest women in the world is nothing to hang your head about. A lot of women would love to be you. That’s Arkansas football. Just because you’re not Alabama or LSU material doesn’t mean 95% of the rest of the teams in America would LOVE to trade places with you. So take your blowout losses in stride. It is far from a knock on you in my mind as it is simply the misfortune of playing in the SEC West.

Trending: Irrelevant

K.M: It’s a shame that Arkansas wasn’t in the Big 12 this season, which they could have rolled through undefeated and then been exposed by LSU or Alabama in the national title. Seriously, name one conference Arkansas wouldn’t win. I only have them here because they have two losses. They gonna beat down someone in a bowl game that is well beneath them, and not get enough credit for a fantastic season. Except from TSHQ. We will credit you, Razor-men. We respect.

Trending: Huh?

BCS Implications: Week 13

Posted in College Football by Yeshayahu Ginsburg on November 28th, 2011

It looks right now as if LSU has pretty much locked up a spot in the National Championship Game. It also looks like Alabama has locked up a spot. It will take a decent amount of manipulation by the voters to move Oklahoma State (or any other team, we’ll give details later) up to a position where they can take the #2 spot. It looked like the AP was working towards that when they jumped Oklahoma State up to #3 after a bye week, but the Coaches’ and Harris Polls, the only two that matter for the BCS, didn’t follow suit. They still have one week to change their mind, but that’s looking very unlikely at this point.

BCS Bowl Scenarios:

Big East: The Big East won’t get any at-larges. The conference champion will almost definitely go to the Orange Bowl. They only way I can see the Big East champ going to a different bowl would be if the Sugar Bowl found West Virginia more valuable than Houston. Still, even that seems very unlikely. In a 3-way tie, the tiebreaker would be highest-ranked in the BCS, which would probably be West Virginia. If Cincinnati loses, the Louisville wins the conference. If Cincinnati wins and West Virginia loses, then Cincinnati will win the conference for the third time in the last 4 years.

ACC: The winner of the ACC Championship Game will go to the Orange Bowl. Virginia Tech might have a chance at an at-large if they lose, but they would probably not be as enticing to the Fiesta Bowl as Stanford or as enticing as Michigan to the Sugar Bowl. Also, Stanford will definitely earn automatic entry into the BCS for finishing in the top 4 if Virginia Tech loses the ACC Championship Game.

Big XII: The Big XII looks like it actually is in a bit of trouble to get 2 BCS teams. The winner of Bedlam will go to the Fiesta Bowl unless Oklahoma State can sneak into the NCG. But assuming they can’t, there really isn’t anywhere for a second Big XII team to go. The Rose Bowl is taken up, as always, and the Orange Bowl will be stuck with the ACC and Big East champions. The Sugar Bowl will have to take the non-AQ qualifier and will then have to choose between Michigan and the Bedlam loser or Kansas State for the final spot. That choice would be a no-brainer. The Sugar would take Michigan. If Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, or Kansas State wants a Sugar Bowl bid they need to hope that Michigan somehow can’t crack the top 14 next week or for Houston to lose. If Oklahoma State can sneak into the NCG, expect Oklahoma to replace them in the Fiesta Bowl if they stay in the top 14. If they fall out, expect the Fiesta to stay with their conference and take Kansas State.

Big Ten: The winner of the Big Ten Championship Game will go to the Rose Bowl. The loser will almost definitely fall out of the top 14 and not be available for an at-large. Michigan is one of those teams that I feel will never be passed up for an at-large if they are available. They are sitting at #16, with two teams right ahead of them having to play each other in the Big Ten Championship Game. Also, Georgia looks likely to lose in the SEC Championship Game, opening up a path for Michigan to reach #14. Michigan might have to fear Baylor catching them from behind, but they have enough of a lead that that shouldn’t be a concern. If Georgia wins the SEC and Stanford finishes in the top 4 it will take away the final at-large spot if we still have an Alabama vs LSU rematch in the NCG, sending Michigan to the Outback or Capital One bowl (Capital One most likely).

Random Thoughts On CFB, BCS, Heisman, USC, etc.

Posted in College Football by Bryan Doherty on November 27th, 2011

Random thoughts. They may be right, they may be wrong, but at least they are mine.

BCS National Championship: I was 100% against an LSU/Alabama re-match in the BCS National Championship. However, after watching LSU dismantle #3 Arkansas and seeing Alabama crush Auburn in the Iron Bowl, I have changed my mind.

Even if Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma and Georgia upsets LSU, I still think that it should be LSU/Alabama in the NCG. Yes, I understand that if that scenario happens we would have 2 teams that didn’t win their conference in the NCG, but, in my opinion, we would still have the top 2 teams. An LSU loss to Georgia would be more about the schedule that they have played than about Georgia actually being a better team.

I have even considered the fact of the much talked about possibility of the “almost re-match” a few years back with tOSU and Michigan. In fact, I used the fact that both were beaten handily in their respective BCS bowl games as a reason not to have a re-match. However, if the idea is to match the top 2 teams and we’re not going to use a playoff to decide it, then I think LSU and Alabama should be those teams regardless of how annoying the “Team SEC” folks will become.

Hey, a playoff! That’s a novel idea: I think that this season, as much or more than any other, is really starting to show that college football needs a playoff. I don’t think that most fans would be as opposed to an LSU/Alabama re-match if it were the result of both teams surviving a playoff than it would be if they survived a vote. I also don’t buy into the notion of “the regular season in college football is a playoff” because by definition, the regular season is not a playoff, it’s the regular season. In sports where there is a playoff (you know, every sport other than D-1 college football) the regular season is used to determine playoff participants and to prepare those teams for the playoffs and for teams that don’t qualify to see what they need to fix to be qualifiers in the future (thus, the importance of the regular season). The playoff is then used to determine the champion. It’s time for D-1 college football to figure out what virtually every other sport (including every other division of college football) figured out a long time ago.

Handicapping the NFL: Week 12

Posted in NFL, Uncategorized by Cole Zwicker on November 26th, 2011

Season ATS: 25-21-1

Season Over/Unders: 1-3

Season Parlays: 1-3

Season Teasers: 2-9

Season Units: -20.5 units

Thanksgiving Recap: Just like football is a game of inches, line betting is a game of points, or more specifically, fractions of points. Thursday’s T-day slate was clear evidence of the former, on both ends of the spectrum. The positive: the Lions were +6 most of the week and closed +5 (the only possible explanation I have for this occurrence was a last second push from the sharps; the public was all over GB). I teased them down from to +12 the night before instead of the +11 option available just before game time. The popular opinion I’m assuming at the time would’ve been “the difference of a point on non key numbers is irrelevant.” Well, somehow the Lions, via an unforeseen two point conversion and a last second touchdown (their trademark as the backdoor kings of the NFL), covered 12. Clearly the extra point mattered. Now to address the negative: the Niners opened +4, and the number was quickly bet down to 3 before last minute money came back on the Ravens, pushing the line to SF +3.5 at close. I got in at +3.5 and teased it down to +9.5. What happens? The Ravens win by 10. What’s my point? In betting the NFL it’s all about getting the best of the number, arguably more so than any other sport. That’s why you should move drop everything you’re doing, move to Vegas and get your plays in on Sunday night a week ahead of time before the value is extracted. I’ll now get off my soap box (speaking to myself) and stop trying to pull out anything positive or educational from enduring another teaser blow + several years being taken off my life from that emotional roller coaster of a T-day. Really San Fran? NINE sacks? Arrggggghhhhhhhh. Onto the rest of week 12 before I break something..

I.Line Plays

Houston (-6) at Jacksonville

Ironically, after preaching getting the best of the number I open with this play, of which I was late to the party. Houston opened as -3.5 point favorites. The line has already sky-rocketed to -6. That’s a HUGE swing over 4 days, and the funny thing is, I don’t think it’s high enough. I’d play the Texans here at anything less than 7.5. Listen, I realize Matt “I like to throw hot tub parties with underage high school girls instead of footballs” Leinart is now at the helm after Schaub went on IR, but I don’t think it matters, at least here. Houston has succeeded all year by doing two things: running the ball and defense. Schaub wasn’t integral to their success like in past seasons where he had to throw for 300 yards for them to win. All Leinart has to do is do what Schaub did: throw 20 times mostly off play action and manage the game (also see Alex Smith). That recipe won’t get them to the Super Bowl against elite competition, but against a banged up Jags defense it will suffice. Also, I wont pretend like this isn’t a fade on Sunshine Gabbert, who posted this amazing stat line the last time the two teams played: 10-30 for 97 yards and 2 picks. Most importantly however, the Texans will give 100% effort coming off a bye without their starting quarterback in an attempt to make an “eff you, we’re still legit” statement. I’ll side with them.

Bet: Houston -6 (4 units)

I’d jump on the Texans ASAP. I don’t think it’s possible to be a more anti public team than the Jags, so you can bet there will be another last minute push on Houston.

Will a new name and new additions help the Pac 12 shed the “weak conference” label the Pac-10 had garnered in recent years?

Posted in College Basketball by Gus Elvin on November 25th, 2011

Pac -12 Conference Preview

by Gus Elvin

The Pac-10 is no more as with the additions of Colorado and Utah the conference has been renamed the Pac-12(Big 10 and Big 12 take note). The new name change may be a good thing for a conference that over the last few seasons had earned a reputation as being a very weak conference that had slipped below some non-power 6 conferences like the Mountain West and even the Atlantic 10. In all honesty the Pac-10 deserved this reputation as they got only 4 teams in a 68 team expanded NCAA Tournament in 2011(including USC one of last 4 in) and only 2 in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. This year the Pac-12 should be better than it was the last 2 seasons but there is no top 10 caliber team in the conference as the conference championship race appears to be wide open with as many as 4 teams in the mix. The Pac-12 at the top is just not as good as the other conferences and its’ bottom 5 are very weak as teams like Utah, Washington State, Colorado and USC all have very inexperienced rosters that lack elite talent. The key factor that people don’t realize is that the Pac-10 has not been short of talent the past few years and that in reality its’ not the conferences fault they have been down the past few years. The Pac-10 over the past few seasons has been decimated by early departures and hurt more by early entrants into the NBA draft than any other conference. Players like Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Brook Lopez and O.J. Mayo have all come through the Pac-10 and left early because the NBA came calling which has left the conference with a bit of a talent void. Even looking at last season you realize what the Pac-12 could have been this year if players like Klay Thompson, Malcolm Lee, Derrick Williams, Tyler Honeycutt, Isaiah Thomas and even Alec Burks at Colorado who played in the Big 12 last season had stayed another year. The Pac-12 this season will be a very young conference as freshmen like Josiah Turner and Nick Johnson(Arizona), Tony Wroten Jr.(Washington) and Arizona State’s Jahii Carson(if eligible) should all major impacts this season. The Pac-10 is a 4 team race between UCLA, Arizona, California and Washington and at the moment it is tough to tell which of these teams has the edge if any. This season the Pac-12 is wide open as I said as anyone of the top 4 could make a run at the regular season conference title which should provide excitement and entertainment value in the inaugural season of Pac-12 basketball.

Pac-12 Conference Projected Standings

1.) UCLA Bruins

2.) Washington Huskies

3.) Arizona Wildcats

4.) California Golden Bears

5.) Stanford Cardinal

6.) Oregon State Beavers

7.) Oregon Ducks

8.) Washington State Cougars

9.) Arizona State Sun Devils

10.) Colorado Buffaloes

11.) USC Trojans

12.) Utah Utes

Going Around the NHL’s Thanksgiving Table

Posted in NHL by Stephen Bochanski on November 24th, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I know our Canadian friends have already celebrated their Thanksgiving, but here in the good ole US of A, we’re okay if you guys from up north double dip. So let’s go around the league and see what each team should be thankful for today:

Anaheim Ducks: Teemu Selanne decided to play another year

Boston Bruins: How about a short hangover? 10 straight wins right now…

Buffalo Sabres: Jhonas Enroth seems to do nothing but win

Calgary Flames: They share a conference with the Blue Jackets

Carolina Hurricanes: They’re only 3 points out of a playoff spot despite Eric Staal’s very slow start

Chicago Blackhawks: Good health so far

Colorado Avalanche: The reemergence of Kyle Quincey

Columbus Blue Jackets: Vinny Prospal still has something left in the tank

Dallas Stars: Sheldon Souray hasn’t gotten hurt yet

Detroit Red Wings: Age is a state of mind

Edmonton Oilers: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins seems to be the real deal

Florida Panthers: Kris Versteeg!

Los Angeles Kings: Drew Doughty is happy again

Minnesota Wild: Currently first place in the NHL

Montreal Canadiens: That the Senators have cooled off a bit

Nashville Predators: They have an elite talent in Pekka Rinne locked up for awhile

New Jersey Devils: Adam Henrique is looking like a solid pivot

New York Islanders: Rick DiPietro has one less year on his contract

New York Rangers: Their defense and goaltending is good enough to keep them competitive

Ottawa Senators: They had earplugs in when the critics were saying they’d be the worst in the league this year

Philadelphia Flyers: New faces and new responsibilities doesn’t mean less offense

Phoenix Coyotes: Dave Tippet still knows his defense

Pittsburgh Penguins: They’re an elite team with or without Sidney Crosby in the lineup

San Jose Sharks: Joe Pavelski is turning into a stud

St. Louis Blues: They got Ken Hitchcock before the Jackets did

Tampa Bay Lightning: They’re at .500 despite their terrible and banged up defense

Toronto Maple Leafs: Playoffs might not be out of the question this year

Vancouver Canucks: Corey Schneider is on the bench Roberto Luongo

Washington Capitals: Nicklas Backstrom remembered how to produce

Winnipeg Jets: They have fans now

NFL Week 11 Recap & Week 12 Picks

Posted in NFL by James Caughlin on November 24th, 2011

How many quarterbacks are injured at the moment? It seems like in the last month half the league has lost their starting quarterbacks and or a backup. Looking at the number it paints a pretty poor picture for the overall health of the signal callers around the league. There was a strange connection in the last game of the weekend between the Patriots and Chiefs, last time these two teams played back in week 1 of 2008, Tom Brady started for the Patriots. 7 minutes into the game he went out with the now famous hit by Bernard Pollard and was replaced by Matt Cassel, who started the rest of the season and got traded to the Chiefs. 3 years later back at Gillette Stadium, Cassel was set up to come and play against his old team before hurting his hand and needing to be replaced by Tyler Palko. Around the league these teams either played a backup quarterback in week 11 or are going to be forced to start their backup in week 12 due to injury: Miami (Matt Moore replacing Chad Henne), Arizona (John Skelton replacing Kevin Kolb), Tennessee (Jake Locker likely to replace Matt Hasslebeck if he is injured), Indianapolis (Dan Orlovsky replacing Curtis Painter who replaced Kerry Collins who replaced Peyton Manning), Chicago (Caleb Hanie replacing Jay Cutler), Oakland (Carson Palmer replacing Jason Campbell), Philadelphia (Vince Young replacing Michael Vick), Kansas City (Tyler Palko replacing Matt Cassel). That’s 8 teams, a quarter of the league who have had to turn to backups because of injury alone at this point in the season, add into that Sam Bradford in St Louis and Travaris Jackson in Seattle, that’s 10 teams who have lost their quarterback to injury at some point this year. Let’s not start on the number who have been benched for sucking. Who says a backup never gets a chance? This week coming up we have the Thanksgiving slate of games which are always fun and as someone who watches from a very different timezone, the late kickoff is always helpful to have. Dallas at Miami is probably the least appealing of all the games and even that has intrigue to it as

Game Breakdowns

Detroit (49) -d- Carolina (35)

You sort of feel bad for Cam Newton, the Panthers lead 24-7 after the Lions turned the ball over early including 2 interceptions by Matthew Stafford. It was at this point the Lions kicked into gear and ran over the sucky Panthers defense that Newton has had to cover up so far this year. Detroit finally found an answer to getting production out of the running game while Jahvid Best is out through former wonder kid Kevin Smith who looked back to his best after two years of knee problems. Smith had a great day running for 140 yards and two touchdowns and catching one of Stafford’s 5 touchdown passes. The Panthers defense had a good idea to try and stop the Lions offense, harass Calvin Johnson to limit his production (as best as you can) and force someone else on the Lions to beat them, unfortunately someone else did.

Pick: Lions, Panthers just killed themselves with mistakes.

Dallas (27) -d- Washington (24) [OT]

The good Tony Romo showed up in this game for the third week in a row after being embarrassed at Philadelphia back in week 8. Romo’s stats really tell a good story throwing for almost 300 yards and 3 TD’s but most importantly no interceptions. The running game was shut down and provided no support meaning Romo had to carry the team on his back, if only he was that competent every week he would probably be in the conversation with Rodgers and Brees in terms of skill level. The Cowboys deployed a great 3 pronged receiver attack with Jason Witten and Dez Bryant providing over the big plays while Laurant Robinson continues to be a reliable underneath receiver. Washington meanwhile have fallen off so much after their surprising 3-1 start thanks to a rather large injury list, one positive to take from this game is it was a week when Rex Grossman looked like an NFL quarterback.

Pick: Cowboys, they did enough to put themselves back into playoff contention

Green Bay (35) -d- Tampa Bay (26)

It’s great seeing these two old division rivals going at it again in the battle of the Bays. The Tampa offense showed signs of life here after struggling recently, Legarette Blount had some bruising runs as the Packers defense struggled to make a tackle but they did force turnovers to cover up the large chunks of yards conceded. The Buccaneers defense had the same issues every team that plays the Packers did, in that they couldn’t stop Aaron Rodgers, who had a 300 yard passing game until his final throw to John Kuhn lost yardage and put him on 299. Rodgers was another quarterback to get no support from his running game here but when you are in the form he is in, it doesn’t matter as much as you would think.

Pick: Packers, can’t wait for Thanksgiving game at Detroit

Atlanta (23) -d- Tennessee (17)

Well it was good to see the Falcons comeback after that tough loss to New Orleans last week. Michael Turner had 100 yards exactly and scored a touchdown to build a 23-3 lead late in the 3rd quarter. Matt Ryan did his job as well throwing for 316 yards and a score but the stories coming from this game are about the Titans offense. Chris Johnson is back to sucking after a good game last week getting 12 carries and turning them into 13 yards. Matt Hasselbeck had an ugly elbow injury and had to turn the reins over to rookie Jake Locker while down by 20, Locker came up big though leading the Titans to two scores and making things interesting late in the game before his comeback bid ultimately fell short. Gave the Titans some hope if he needs to cover for the next couple of weeks.

Pick: Falcons, staying in the playoff race.

Philadelphia (17) -d- New York (10)

I’ll say this right off the bat, Vince Young is not a great quarterback by any stretch. Ok not exactly a statement worth stopping the presses over but the fact remains about Vince Young is, if you let him hang around and don’t get ruthless enough, he will win games. The Giants must really hate him right now after his comeback in 2006 with the Titans and now this win, despite throwing 3 interceptions. Eli Manning was far from great in this game but the blame for the loss can’t go all on his shoulders. The Eagles did play very well on defense and forced the key stops when needed on the final drive.

Pick: Giants, who would have thought Vince Young would be able to pull the game out.

Rapid Picks Recap:

Thursday Night Football

Denver (17) -d- New York (13)

Something is wrong with the Jets, Tim Tebow meanwhile continues to prove he is a great fullback.

Pick: Broncos

1:00pm

Miami (35) -d- Buffalo (8)

Miami had the high rolling offense while the wheels continue to fall off for the Bills

Pick: Bills

Cleveland (14) -d- Jacksonville (10)

Cleveland did their best to lose this but managed to win somehow

Pick: Jaguars

Baltimore (31) -d- Cincinnati (24)

Surprising amount of points here, great game though.

Pick: Ravens

Oakland (27) -d- Minnesota (21)

Raiders made the most of a mistake filled Vikings performance and an Adrian Peterson injury.

Pick: Raiders

4:15pm

San Francisco (23) -d- Arizona (7)

This one was over very quickly with the only Cardinals points coming late on in the game, the fight was kind of amusing too.

Pick: 49ers

Seattle (24) -d- Rams (7)

Rams had a good start but couldn’t hold up as the Seahawks got a big win.

Pick: Rams

Chicago (31) -d- San Diego (20)

Chicago will need to rely on their running game more than ever now with Cutler out, somewhere Matt Forte’s agent is laughing.

Pick: Bears

Monday Night Football

New England (34) -d- Kansas City (3)

Slow start by the Patriots but they made plenty of big plays.

Pick: Patriots

Picks Record: 10-4 (106-56 on the season)

Week 12 Preview

Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions

12:30pm Thursday, Ford Field.

Line: Packers -6

Storyline: The Lions are relevant at Thanksgiving and in the playoff race for the first time in over a decade

For the Lions to Win: If Jahvid Best is healthy and able to play (which quite frankly is anyone’s guess at this point), the Lions have an added dimension to an already explosive offense. There is enough talent and speed on this defense to be able to hang around with the potent Green Bay offense in a shootout and potentially even top it. Even if Best can’t play, Kevin Smith looks like he may finally be back after two years of knee problems having a great game last week. Green Bay’s defense continues to give up yards thanks to questionable tackling technique so the backs and receivers may be able to break some big runs if they aren’t wrapped up. On defense, the Packers will have to throw the ball a lot given the form he is in, the Lions will have to hope Suh and co can plant Rodgers on the ground, hard.

For the Packers to Win: A win for the Packers would deal a massive blow to the playoff hopes of their divisional rival so you know they will be up for this one. Athletically, the Lions offense probably have the edge on the Packers defense but you can always count on Dom Capers to come up with some sort of crazy coverage scheme to confuse Matthew Stafford. Capers used some great baiting in his coverages two weeks ago against San Diego and you know he will come up with some more of that for this national game. If the Packers can force early interceptions by Stafford and build a lead, you know they will get frustrated and make more silly decisions.

Pick: Packers, I so badly want to take the Lions but Green Bay just keeps winning.

San Francisco 49ers vs Baltimore Ravens

8:20pm Thursday, M&T Bank Stadium

Line: Ravens -3.5

Storyline: Apparently the two head coaches are brothers, haven’t heard NFL Network or ESPN mention that at all.

For the Ravens to Win: The way the Ravens are playing at the moment, their offense is a real crap shoot as to whether or not they will be effective. I really don’t like the way they match up against the 49ers defense, especially when they try to throw the ball. Baltimore has shown they do sometimes go pass-crazy and ignore the run which will play into the hands of the 49ers defense. So that’s where everything can go wrong for the Ravens, but this section is meant to be about how they will win, maybe I should address that. To win they will need to do it the old-fashioned Ravens way, with their very, very good defense. The 49ers strength is to run through their opponents, if Baltimore sells out to stop the run they will make Alex Smith throw to win and he is just as much a toss up as always.

For the 49ers to Win: This has already been covered a bit in the previous section, the 49ers best chance is if the Ravens think they have Peyton Manning, Drew Brees or Tom Brady playing quarterback for them and drop back to pass a lot. The most complex part of the Ravens passing game is which side Torrey Smith will line up on to run his go route and if the Ravens try that a lot, then that plays into the 49ers hands as they will be able to pin their ears back and go after Flacco. On offense if Frank Gore is healthy, the 49ers will rely on him to pound the ball through the defense and keep the chains moving.

Pick: 49ers, everything is against them & they love it that way.

New England Patriots vs Philadelphia Eagles

4:15pm, Lincoln Financial Field

Line: N/A (my guess is Pats -6.5 which is way too high if so)

Storyline: Two teams that were preseason favourites in their conferences are now looking to right the ship and make a playoff run, the Pats are looking to get a top 2 seed while the Eagles are looking to just get into the playoffs.

For the Eagles to Win: The Patriots have shown plenty of vulnerability defending the pass this year with their barely patchwork secondary and DeSean Jackson looks likely to have a field day against this defense. His speed and explosiveness presents several match up issues and he will find holes in zone coverage as well. That’s not to say the Eagles should go pass happy (especially if Vince Young is playing) since their other main weapon is the running back LeSean McCoy. One thing Patriots opponents have struggled with the last couple of weeks is taking advantage of the early struggles of the Pats offense, if Philadelphia can get an early lead and force the Patriots to chase, that will go a long way to getting a win they desperately need.

For the Patriots to Win: The defensive line needs to make sure they contain the running threat from whoever is playing quarterback for the Eagles and for the first time, they have the athleticism on the line to do so with Andre Carter and Mark Anderson. Forcing them to be a pocket passer will go a long way to helping out the secondary since their accuracy can fail them at times. When the Patriots have the ball they will look to throw the ball (funnily enough) but the Eagles corners could actually match up with the outside guys of Welker, Branch and Ocho (for his 15 plays a game). To solve this issue look for Brady to go to Gronkowski, Hernandez and even Danny Woodhead when they are matched up against the Eagles linebacking corps.

Pick: Patriots, Eagles fade away with a lead & the Pats come on strong.

That’s it for the breakdowns this week, would have loved to do Oakland-Chicago and the Monday Night game between the Saints and Giants but time has eluded me.

Quick Picks:

Thanksgiving Game:

Miami @ Dallas (-7)

Pick: Cowboys, Miami’s run ends here on the short week.

1:00pm

Cleveland @ Cincinnati (-9)

Pick: Bengals

Buffalo @ New York (-9)

Pick: Jets, I was on the fence until I heard Fred Jackson is reportedly out for the season.

Houston (-3.5) @ Jacksonville

Pick: Texans, I still think the Texans running backs will carry them to more wins than losses

Carolina (-3.5) @ Indianapolis

Pick: Panthers, look for a close game but I think the Panthers have enough offense here to get over the line

Tampa Bay @ Tennessee (-3.5)

Pick: Buccaneers, they played Green Bay close last week and get over the line here.

Minnesota @ Atlanta (-9.5)

Pick: Falcons, they should do just enough to get by here.

4:15pm

Chicago @ Oakland (-4)

Pick: Raiders, this is going to be a really good game to watch, Carson Palmer will be the difference here.

Washington @ Seattle (-3.5)

Pick: Seahawks, they’re always a tough out at home

Denver @ San Diego (-6)

Pick: Broncos, I’m buying Tebow’s ability to win even if he sucks as a QB, so now watch as he loses when I start to give him some credit.

8:20pm

Pittsburgh (-10.5) @ Kansas City

Pick: Steelers, look for a similar score to last week against the Patriots & I don’t see Orton making an impact

Monday Night Football

New York @ New Orleans (-7)

Pick: Saints, Brees outguns Manning

That’s it for this week, hope the US-based readers have a good Thanksgiving.

TSHQ’s Gamblers CFB Sexy Six Week 13

Posted in College Football, Gambling by Bryan Doherty on November 23rd, 2011

Two weeks remain in the regular season as we trot towards the finish line before the end of the season bowl special. Right now a 55% season looks like a pipe dream but crazier things have happened and you can never discount one hot run to end the year. Only the most loyal of followers are still riding with us and nobody would fault you for jumping ship. To say we can’t wait for College Basketball gambling to start would be a major understatement. So we’ll just cut the bull this week and get to what matters.

Week 12 of the season saw the same we’ve seen from the two of us most of the year….mediocrity. K.M went 4-2 ATS, 2-4 SU while I managed a 3-3 ATS, 1-5 SU record. In our hot hook ups (when we agree on a team against the spread), we went 2-1 with Nebraska screwing us over. Thus after 12 weeks of the season, here’s where we stand:

Bryan: 47-25 SU, 35-34-3 ATS
K.M: 38-34 SU, 31-38-3 ATS
Hot Hook Ups: 17-20-2

Here are the archived weeks from this season to date:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12

Week 13 is one of those weeks each year we all look for. It’s the end of the year, there’s some national title implications, as well as conference races that will be determined in the final two weekends. We have big BCS league implications as well as a non-AQ league game that has an impact not only on that league’s title game but the BCS picture as well. You’ll be watching the majority of these games, all the while recovering from your Thanksgiving hangover. So enjoy…it’s College Football at its finest.

The Sexy Six…

Arkansas (+13.5) at LSU

Bryan: Time to find out just how much I trust my Hogs I’ve been backing all year. They got THUMPED by Alabama but have historically fared better against LSU recently than against the Tide. As I’ve said 1 million times this year, the way to beat LSU is through the air. You have to be able to spread them out and make big time throws, specifically against their linebackers in coverage. Claiborne, Mathieu and co. are intimidating as hell. You can’t make mistakes or they kill you. Arkansas defensively isn’t as good as many thought they could be this year. Yet, Arkansas has been playing great football the past few weeks. It has been when they’ve stepped outside Fayettville that they haven’t looked their best. Nobody needs reminder of the stakes here. LSU has delivered time and time again on the big stage this year. Arkansas really has only had one big game and got thumped. I’m not picking Arkansas to win this game. And although I may regret it, I’m not picking them to cover either. It’s just LSU’s year. Nobody short of Bama belongs on the field with them.

Prediction: LSU 34 Arkansas 17

K.M:Arkansas is a great team. But good luck beating LSU in LSU. The LSU defense is sometimes criticized for being undersized, but Arkansas isn’t exactly a monster team that could take advantage of this perceived weakness if it even existed. Arkansas has struggled away from home, and when it comes to Death Valley, calling it a road game doesn’t do it justice. The media seems to be insinuating that LSU needs to win this game to maintain it’s place in the BCS Championship game, which is some BS, but also should ensure we get top flight LSU in this one. Sure, the line is inflated, but LSU’s swag is inflated too, so I’ll lay the requested points and roll with my preseason national champion to do what it is I predicted them to do, roll everyone. GEAUX TIGERS!

Prediction: LSU 38, Arkansas 14

Hot Hook-Up: LSU laying the points

Houston (-3.5) at Tulsa

K.M: Do you read the SSR? You do? Good, I can save my keyboard a bit of wear and tear here then. I love Houston. Case Keenum gets it done, not in a Tebow way where nobody understands how, his skills are very evident. You want to play a shootout with Houston? I welcome the challenge. If this team somehow gets Michigan in a BCS bowl, it could be the start of something ugly, I typically prefer my non-AQ schools to lose their BCS games, because I will almost always take the bigger school, and I don’t like the AQ’s in general pretending they could WIN the national title, because the SEC is not a non-AQ conference, so nobody from a non-AQ conference is winning no BCS Titles. But this year I may have to make an exception, partly because SEC dominance is undeniable, and partly because I love Houston, and partly because Michigan is stupid.

Prediction: Houston 51, Tulsa 42

Bryan: Enough of these frauds. Get them out of here. I actually had to rank them 14th this week because I was too disgusted to rank anyone else. I can’t bare the though of them going to the BCS. Would make Boise look SEC-worthy in years past. They’ve beaten NOBODY. My boy G.J Kinne will rise up and save me from these frauds. Points will be like condoms in a freshman dorm here, just never-ending supply. But I’ve done well overall when I’ve pushed my chips all in on Michigan, Iowa, Stanford, and others who I’ve called out as overrated. So here’s one more last double-up. No need to analyze it all. Whoever wins the shootout wins the game. Give me Tulsa at home to win the CUSA West and expose these frauds.

Prediction: Tulsa 48 Houston 45

Clemson (+4) at South Carolina

Bryan: Honestly we suck. I can’t believe I thought we had a chance to run the table a few weeks ago. Sammy Watkins fooled our entire fanbase. He made us believe we had a great team. No in reality we have one dynamic WR who will dominate games for us and hide the fact our defense sucks and our QB is overrated as all hell. South Carolina’s offense is so bad though I just have a hard time believing we can’t stay within a FG of them. Frankly this a game I can TOTALLY see us winning before getting our heads caved in by Virginia Tech or Virginia in the ACC Championship game. The ironic thing? Some Clemson fans I know would be fine with that. Makes no sense to me. I HATE the Yankees. HATE the Lakers. HATE the Colts and Steelers. But I’ll lose to ALL of them EVERY TIME if I can win a title in exchange. An ACC title is so much more important to me than some win in a second-rate rivalry. So take care of business Clemson. Once I’m done with this snoozefest of a rivalry, I’ll take my ATS win and get ready to watch you choke the ACC title away.

Predicition: Clemson 23 South Carolina 14

K.M: South Carolina has fallen on hard times. Clemson turned into Clemson last week. Nothing about this game is very awesome. It would be very Clemson to lose their last 3 games and head to some second rate bowl. So I guess I’ll predict that to happen. The problem with that is I’m backing South Carolina now, who is not at all explosive anymore. One thing South Carolina does have is a solid coach and a good pass rush, two things that to me seem like they would make you well suited to beat Clemson. I am predicting this game with a level of confidence that borders zero, I don’t know what you would honestly see in this game to make you feel good enough to bet it. But my hands are tied, I’m a degenerate and I write this column, so here I am. Go Cocks? Damn, I can’t believe I have to pick a side in this one. So weak. I don’t want to hear a damn thing if I’m wrong here. I’m making it very clear this game lacks value. Watching value, betting value, irony value, any value.

Prediction: South Carolina 20, Clemson 14

Virginia Tech (-5.5) at Virginia

K.M: IT’S A TRAP! This line gives me great hope that UVA might actually win this game. That would be so awesome. As a VT alumnus (I TOOK TWO YEARS OF LATIN! LOOK AT ME USE THE RIGHT TERM! BOW DOWN TO MY SUPERIOR INTELLECT!), with a B.A. in Political Science and a Ph.D. in hating the ever living hell out of my alma mater, I would love to see UVA actually win the Coastal. How fitting would it be if UVA somehow made the Orange Bowl and played like Louisville or something terrible like that. It would be the worst game ever. All that said, this trap is one I am going to jump head first into. I don’t care what I really want to see, or how awesome a UVA win would be for my hater bones, VT is probably going to roll the hell out of UVA something fierce. Lay the 5.5 points and consider it a gift from the gambling gods. This line sucks, maybe on purpose, but all I see is dollar signs with this one. VT, huge, and if I’m wrong, I will laugh for a solid month.

Prediction: Virginia Tech 30, Virginia 10

Bryan: Winner is Clemson’s ACC title game opponent. PLEASE Cavaliers win this game. We’d MUCH RATHER play you than the Hokies again. Here’s a sneak preview to the Clemson pre-game prep talk from Dabo Swinney and Chad Morris: “Gentleman, play hard and believe. We’re all in. Shock the World Tour 2011. Have faith”. That’s it. Then we’ll probably lose by 40. Am I fairweather? Hell no. I’m loyal. I’m just realistic. Some southerners I notice don’t like being brutally honest. That’s just how I roll. In Boston, you blow a big game, you get ripped. Deservingly so. There’s no free passes. But nonetheless back to this game. UVA has had a great run. In fact if there’s anything to hang our hats on after this miserable season it’s that K.M and I both predicted UVA to a bowl game preseason. Did you? Of course you didn’t. Practically nobody did. But I’ve got to be honest, they’ve exceeded their ceiling. This isn’t a 9-3 regular season team. They’re more or less a 6-6, 7-5 talented team disguised as 8-3 right now. Virginia Tech isn’t close to a top 5 team but that weak ACC schedule basically has them there by default. It will be Hokies-Tigers in the ACC title game and by the time we kick off in 2 weeks, I’ll probably stupidly convince myself we have a chance. Lay the points….

Prediction: Virginia Tech 27 Virginia 10

Hot Hook-Up: Stupid Turkey Team laying the points

Penn State (+14.5) at Wisconsin

Bryan: Life is good for me in the Big Ten. I’ve been pro-Sparty all year and they’re sitting in the Big Ten championship waiting on an opponent. I’ve been pro-Wisconsin since Day 1, perhaps to a fault. I’ve overranked them all year. And Penn St., a team I wasn’t pro towards but never had anything against I’ve adopted as pro-Nittany Lions in the wake of the scandal that Paterno has been FAR too crucified for. So while everyone around the country wishes negatively on Penn State, I’ve found myself rooting for them. Rooting for them to silence all the haters and push towards the Big Ten title. Do I think they’ll make the Rose Bowl? Of course not. I don’t think they can go to Wisconsin and win. I thought they could beat Nebraska and Ohio State to make this game meaningless. However, they only could do half of that. Illinois almost sent Penn State to the Big Ten title last week before slipping up. I’ve pretty much stood by Wisconsin all year. Have maintained they’re the best Big Ten team most times and have looked like a fool when they couldn’t defend a Hail Mary. Wisconsin wins, but I’ll be rooting for Penn State.

Prediction: Wisconsin 24 Penn State 13

K.M: There has not been one moment this season where I thought Wisconsin wasn’t way better then Penn State. The Kiddie Lions have look liked frauds to me from the word go, and Wisconsin has talent, even if they can’t seem to always get the most out of it. Vegas appears to want to test me big time on this line. Well Vegas, you underestimated my love of chalk. My terrible record this season proves that I am addicted to laying points, I can’t get enough of it. You lay down a marker of points to lay, and tell me to jump, and I will do it. Chalk is delicious, if very costly. Here we go again. Why learn a lesson? That’s for Clydes. Wisconsin by a huge amount.

Prediction: Wisconsin 30, Penn State 6

Notre Dame (+6.5) at Stanford

K.M: My gut says Notre Dame somehow keeps this close. I don’t know why the hell I’d think that. Maybe they can get to Luck, force a couple timely fumbles? I’ve clearly gone insane. RIDE THE MADNESS WITH ME. Just don’t take the Irish straight up. Insane is one thing, retarded is another.

Prediction: Stanford 31, Notre Dame 30

Bryan: God, two teams I have no use for. Stanford is overrated. Exposed a few weeks ago vs Notre Dame. If there was ever a year to just keep a team from the top 10 regardless of the # of losses, this team deserved strong consideration. 1-loss and one quality win. Notre Dame on the other hand may be the worst 8-3 team in America. Other than a blowout of Michigan State (which I’m still stunned by), they’ve beaten down some of the more mediocre teams from BCS leagues and the military schools. Stanford’s defense is nothing to write home about. I think Notre Dame will be able to throw the ball on them. My concern is can Notre Dame do anything defensively to slow Stanford. That answer is a definitive no. Stanford should go up and down the field on Notre Dame. This is just a game Brian Kelly loses. He really has no signature wins yet and blows every big game. Lay the points.

Prediction: Stanford 42 Notre Dame 27

Really?

Posted in MLB, Uncategorized by Coley Michalik on November 23rd, 2011

Listen, I have felt bitter in previous years after an undeserving Alex Rodriguez has walked away with the MVP, or when Pedro Martinez inexplicably was left off of voters’ ballots in 1999 after perhaps the single most dominant season by a starting pitcher in the history of baseball, but those years had a lot to do with my Boston bias. David Ortiz and Pedro Martinez are both a piece of hardware short because the Baseball Writers Association of America decided that their positions did not warrant the nod for MVP. That they simply were not as important as the other eight players who step on the field on a daily basis. But apparently, things done changed in the minds of said voters, and here I am, just as bitter.

Justin Verlander had an impressive season. Zero argument can be made to say anything differently. But he was not the MVP. He simply wasn’t. From what I can gather, the BBWAA places a premium on the playoffs. You get your team to the playoffs, your value increases greatly. Hence why Jacoby Ellsbury and Jose Bautista did not win this season, despite their gaudy offensive stats. But, did Verlander actually carry his team throughout the season? Was he the single reason that the Tigers made the playoffs?

No. He had a great season, but even this season was not historically great. It wasn’t even historically good. It was one of the best single seasons that happened last year. That’s it. What this award means to me is that no pitcher since Dennis Eckersley has been more valuable to his team’s success over the course of a single season. What it means to me is that there is no better pitcher in Major League Baseball at this very moment who is better than Justin Verlander. Both of those statements are simply not true.

Who did he beat? The Yankees? Nope. In two starts, he allowed six runs in 12 innings and his team lost both games, but Verlander’s record was unscathed. So let’s call it 24-7, because after all, he wasn’t valuable enough to get the team over the hump for the win. He was just good enough to not be held responsible for the loss. How about the Red Sox? One win in two chances, with his other start resulting in a loss for his team. His win came at home while his team lost in Fenway Park, where Verlander allowed two homeruns while striking out nine. Couldn’t possibly be his fault. So, let’s call it 24-8. Tampa Bay? 1-0 in two starts but this time his team won both starts. Instead of adding another win to his total, let’s see what happened in that other game. Six innings pitched with six earned runs on nine hits with one strikeout. Not even a quality start, and his team escaped with a 7-6 win at home. The Texas Rangers? 0-1. While against these four teams, he faced some tremendous lineups, but faced some middling starting pitching (his win against the Rays came against Jeff Niemann). The best two starting pitchers Verlander faced head up were Jered Weaver and Dan Haren. Against the two, Verlander went 1-1, beating Weaver and falling to Haren. Can’t fault him for Detroit’s offense losing a duel 1-0.

Between June, August, and September, Verlander won 15 games and lost none. Over that time he beat two playoff teams: Arizona and Tampa Bay. He did not face Ian Kennedy. He did not face Jeremy Hellickson, David Price, or James Shields. He faced Niemann and Jason Collmenter. In fact, those were the only two playoff teams he beat all season long. During this stretch, he beat Seattle, but did not face Felix Hernandez. He beat Cleveland three times. He beat the White Sox three times. He beat Minnesota twice. The scheduling is not his fault. The matchups are not his fault. All he is supposed to do is go out and win games, which is what he did all season long. But the Most Valuable Player in all of the American League? He simply was not. He beat inferior competition, which any ace should be capable of. Clayton Kershaw, however, beat former CY Young winner and reigning World Series champ Tim Lincecum FOUR times. FOUR. With a significantly worse offensive behind him, Kershaw beat the defending champs’ best pitcher on FOUR different occasions. He also beat Madison Bumgarner once and got a no decision against Matt Cain. 5-0 against a divison rival. 5-0 against the defending champs. That is value. That is rising to the occasion. That is MVP worthy. But alas, the Dodgers did not make the playoffs, so Kershaw had to settle for the CY Young. But, if the Dodgers had advanced to the post-season would he have been awarded the MVP?

NO! His teammate Matt Kemp would have without question. Kemp had an absurd season from any viewpoint, and he was rewarded with a fresh new eight year contract worth $160 million. Not a bad consolation prize. And truth be told, Kemp didn’t deserve the MVP this season mainly because his team did not make the playoffs. But, Ryan Braun certainly did not deserve the award just because his team DID make the playoffs.

Prince Fielder finished third in the NL MVP voting. Third? So we’re to believe Braun is the Most Valuable Player in the league even though he was on a team with the league’s third most valuable player? What does that even mean? How can either be the single most valuable player in the league while along side the other? Especially with a staff comprised of former CY Young winner Zach Greinke, Yovanni Gallardo, and Shaun Marcum and a bullpen with John Axford and Francisco Rodriguez. How can any of those seven players be the most valuable in the league when they clearly cannot succeed without one another? Did the Brewers make the playoffs last season with Fielder, Braun, and Gallardo? Nope. Did they win with Fielder, Braun, Gallardo and CC Sabathia? Nope. Did they win with the seven they trotted out this season? They had the best home record in league, reached their first Championship Series since 1982, but did not ultimately win. But they got to the playoffs. They got the monkey off their back. But Ryan Braun, despite how impressive his individual statistics were, was not the most VALUABLE player in the national league.

That, in reality, goes to Justin Upton. Yes, the Arizona Diamondbacks play in a “weak” division. Yes, Upton hit 11 points under .300. But look me straight in the eyes and tell me the Diamondbacks would have even made the playoffs without Upton. Who was their second best offensive player? Chris Young and his .236 average? Paul Goldschmidt? It was probably Miguel Montero, their catcher. Ian Kennedy won 21 games, tied for most in the NL. Daniel Hudson won 16 games, which is outstanding for a number two on a team like Arizona. But without Justin Upton, this team spins its’ wheels in the mud and probably finished in third behind San Francisco and Los Angeles, probably.

Upton was a one man recking crew. 31 homeruns. 105 runs scored. 88 RBI. 21 stolen bases. 75 extra-base hits. Yes, his .289 average is not exactly impressive, but it’s far from horrible. He missed three games all season. One of which came in the second to last series of the season. Game in and game out, you could count on Justin Upton being in the lineup and being in right field. Out of every playoff team in the league, the Diamondbacks were the most surprising of the bunch. While the Rays and Cardinals had more absurd runs to get into the post-season, both of those teams were at least given a chance in February. No one pegged the Diamondbacks to be ready to compete with two starting pitchers and one bat in the lineup. Yet they took the Brewers to five games in the first round and lost by one run in game five.

That is how an MVP plays. That is VALUE. At some point in time, you need to step back and put the individual stats to the side. Did A-Rod have an absurd season in Texas when he was awarded the MVP despite his team being horrible? Yes, his numbers are almost unheard of, but so what? If the the team is no good, how valuable could a player actually be? That is why Ellsbury didn’t win the award. That is why Kemp didn’t win the award. They were unquestioned beasts but their value simply wasn’t enough to give their team the leg up that they clearly needed in order to get into the second season. But Justin Verlander and Ryan Braun were also not the deciding factors for their respected teams. It’s time the award becomes less about mere statistics and more about the actual value they bring to their respected organizations. Now, if Braun goes out and brings the Brewers back to the playoffs without Prince Fielder next season with the exact same stats, I’ll be screaming that he was robbed like I am on behalf of Justin Upton now. Because that’s where the value comes into play.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the award is just about individual stats and it has nothing to do with helping your team advance into the post-season. But if that’s the case, maybe it’s time to rename the award, because there is no chance that Justin Verlander and Ryan Braun were the most valuable players in all of baseball this season despite their individual accomplishments. Was Braun a Silver Slugger and was Verlander a CY Young winner? Undoubtedly. But MVP’s? Sorry, but they simply were not.