NFL Picks-Week 17

Last week I went 12-4, giving me a record of 153-87 this year. This week:

SUNDAY

Philadelphia over Washington
Atlanta over Tampa Bay
San Francisco over St.Louis
Chicago over Minnesota
Detroit over Green Bay
NY Giants over Dallas
New Orleans over Carolina
Houston over Tennessee
Baltimore over Cincinnati
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
Jacksonville over Indianapolis
NY Jets over Miami
New England over Buffalo
Oakland over San Diego
Denver over Kansas City
Seattle over Arizona

NFL Picks-Week 16

Last week I went 9-7, to give me a record of 141-83. For this week:

THURSDAY

Houston over Indianapolis

SATURDAY

Oakland over Kansas City
Denver over Buffalo
Tennessee over Jacksonville
Cincinnati over Arizona
New England over Miami
Baltimore over Cleveland
NY Giants over NY Jets
Washington over Minnesota
Carolina over Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh over St. Louis
San Diego over Detroit
San Francisco over Seattle
Philadelphia over Dallas

SUNDAY

Green Bay over Chicago

MONDAY

New Orleans over Atlanta

College Football: If it were up to me....

    If I had any say, I would make a few changes in college football. First of all, I would get rid of the BCS. That's a pretty good place to start, right? (Pause to let the applause die down.) I would institute a 16-team tournament in place of the bowls; actually I would use 15 of those bowl games as part of the tournament. I would institute one binding rule-no expansion of brackets. I know it wouldn't be long before someone suggested a 24-team tournament, and so on. That can't be allowed.

    Next, I would note the fact that there are currently 120 teams in FBS (or Division I-A) and institute a freeze. No more teams. Sorry Texas State, Texas-San Antonio, and whoever else thinks they're moving up in the next couple of years. Then I would abolish conference championship games and two-division set-ups. I would make 12 conferences of 10 teams each. Everybody would play a full round-robin schedule, 9 league games, plus 3 non-conference games. This way a true champion for each conference will be crowned-no one can say that this team didn't play that team, and so on.

     Each conference champion would  receive an automatic bid to the tournament, for a total of 12 bids, plus 4 at-large teams would be added to make 16. This means that every conference will have a representative and a fair shot at the title-even the MAC, Sun Belt, and WAC. The emphasis would be on winning one's conference, not on a BCS ranking. I would put the Championship Game in the Rose Bowl, the Grandaddy of them all, every year, as close to New Year's Day as possible. The Final Four games would be played in the Orange Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. The quarterfinal games would be the Fiesta Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Gator Bowl and the Liberty Bowl. Eight more bowl games would make up the first round, which would start the second weekend of December. Remember, if playing throughout December is OK for the smaller divisions, who also have finals to worry about, it's good enough for the big boys also.

     These would be the new conference alignments. Some would be the way they were in the 1980s, some others would be returning to conferences that they have left. Some would be in new homes altogether.

ACC-Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, South Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest

Big Central (formerly the Big 12)-Arkansas, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M

Big East-Boston College, Connecticut, Maryland, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

Big Ten-Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin

Conference USA-Army, Buffalo, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Louisville, Marshall, Memphis, Navy, Northern Illinois, Temple

Gulf Coast Conference (new league)-Baylor, Houston, Lousiana Tech, Rice, Southern Methodist, Southern Mississippi, South Florida, Texas Christian, Texas Tech, Tulane

Mid-American Conference-Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Ohio U., Toledo, Western Michigan

Mountain West-Air Force, Boise State, Brigham Young, Colorado, Colorado State, Idaho, UNLV, Utah, Utah State, Wyoming

Pacific 10-Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State

Southeastern Conference-Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Lousiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt

Sun Belt-Alabama-Birmingham, Arkansas State, Central Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, Troy, Western Kentucky

Western Athletic-Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico State, North Texas, San Diego State, San Jose State, Texas-El Paso, Tulsa

   Thanks for reading my respectfully submitted wishful thinking. We'll never see any of this, of course, but it would be nice. In the meantime, I'll wait for tomorrow's exciting Beef O' Brady Bowl.

NFL Picks-Week 15

Last week I had another pretty good week, going 12-4. That gives me a record of 132-76 on the season. This week it'll be:

THURSDAY

Atlanta over Jacksonville

SATURDAY
Dallas over Tampa Bay

SUNDAY

Washington over NY Giants
Green Bay over Kansas City
New Orleans over Minnesota
Seattle over Chicago
Buffalo over Miami
Houston over Carolina
Tennessee over Indianapolis
Cincinnati over St. Louis
Oakland over Detroit
New England over Denver
NY Jets over Philadelphia
Arizona over Cleveland
Baltimore over San Diego

MONDAY

San Francisco over Pittsburgh

College Bowl Game Picks

The college football regular season is finally over, with Navy defeating Army for the 10th straight year. I finished with a record of 548-193, for a percentage of .740. My high school results, by comparison, were 214-36 for the regular season (.856) and 14-3 in the playoffs (.824). Now it's time for bowl picks. Not always easy to pick, even straight up, these games should provide a challenge as far as attaining a winning record goes. So here it is:

Sat. Dec.17 New Mexico Bowl-Temple (8-4) vs. Wyoming (8-4) Pick: Wyoming
Sat. Dec.17 Idaho Potato Bowl-Ohio U. (9-4) vs. Utah State (7-5) Pick: Ohio U.
Sat. Dec.17 New Orleans Bowl-Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4) vs. San Diego State (8-4) Pick: San Diego St.
Tue.Dec.20 Beef O'Brady's Bowl-Florida International (8-4) vs. Marshall (6-6) Pick: Florida International
WedDec.21 Poinsettia Bowl-Louisiana Tech (8-4) vs. Texas Christian (10-2) Pick: Texas Christian
Thu. Dec.22 Maaco Bowl-Arizona State (6-6) vs. Boise State (11-1) Pick: Boise State
Sat. Dec.24 Hawaii Bowl- Nevada (7-5) vs. Southern Mississippi (11-2) Pick: Southern Mississippi
Mon.Dec26 Independence Bowl-Missouri (7-5) vs. North Carolina (7-5) Pick: Missouri
Tue. Dec.27 Little Caesar's Bowl-Purdue (6-6) vs. Western Michigan (7-5) Pick: Purdue
Tue. Dec.27 Belk Bowl-Louisville (7-5) vs. North Carolina State (7-5) Pick: Louisville
WedDec.28 Military Bowl-Air Force (7-5) vs. Toledo (8-4) Pick: Air Force
WedDec.28 Holiday Bowl-California (7-5) vs. Texas (7-5) Pick: Texas
Thu. Dec.29 Champs Sports Bowl- Florida State (8-4) vs. Notre Dame (8-4) Pick: Florida State
Thu. Dec.29 Alamo Bowl- Baylor (9-3) vs. Washington (7-5) Pick: Baylor
Fri. Dec.30 Armed Forces Bowl- Brigham Young (9-3) vs. Tulsa (8-4) Pick: Brigham Young
Fri. Dec.30 Pinstripe Bowl-Iowa State (6-6) vs. Rutgers (8-4) Pick: Iowa State
Fri. Dec.30 Music City Bowl- Mississippi State (6-6) vs. Wake Forest (6-6) Pick: Mississippi State
Fri. Dec.30 Insight Bowl- Iowa (7-5) vs. Oklahoma (9-3) Pick: Oklahoma
Sat. Dec.31 Meineke Car Care Bowl- Northwestern (6-6) vs. Texas A&M (6-6) Pick: Texas A&M
Sat. Dec.31 Sun Bowl- Georgia Tech (8-4) vs. Utah (7-5) Pick: Georgia Tech
Sat. Dec.31 Liberty Bowl-Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6) Pick: Vanderbilt
Sat. Dec.31 Fight Hunger Bowl-Illinois (6-6) vs. UCLA (6-7) Pick: Illinois
Sat. Dec.31 Chick-Fil-A Bowl- Auburn (7-5) vs. Virginia (8-4) Pick: Virginia
Mon.Jan.2   TicketCity Bowl- Houston (12-1) vs. Penn State (9-3) Pick: Houston
Mon.Jan.2   Outback Bowl- Georgia (10-3) vs. Michigan State (10-3) Pick: Michigan State
Mon.Jan.2   Capital One Bowl- Nebraska (9-3) vs. South Carolina (10-2) Pick: South Carolina
Mon.Jan.2   Gator Bowl- Florida (6-6) vs. Ohio State (6-6) Pick: Ohio State
Mon.Jan.2   Rose Bowl- Oregon (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (11-2) Pick: Wisconsin
Mon.Jan.2   Fiesta Bowl- Oklahoma State (11-1) vs. Stanford (11-1) Pick: Stanford
Tue. Jan.3   Sugar Bowl- Michigan (10-2) vs. Virginia Tech (11-2) Pick: Virginia Tech
WedJan.4   Orange Bowl- Clemson (10-3) vs. West Virginia (9-3) Pick: Clemson
Fri.  Jan.6   Cotton Bowl- Arkansas (10-2) vs. Kansas State (10-2) Pick: Arkansas
Sat. Jan.7    BBVA Compass Bowl- Pittsburgh (6-6) vs. Southern Methodist (7-5) Pick: SMU
Sun. Jan.8   GoDaddy.com Bowl- Arkansas State (10-2) vs. Northern Illinois (10-3) Pick: Ark.State
Mon.Jan.9   BCS Title- Alabama (11-1) vs. Louisiana State (13-0) Pick: Lousiana State

NHL Realignment

    The NHL recently unveiled in new league alignment, made necessary because the Atlanta Thrashers of the Southeast Division moved to Winnipeg, in Canada. The change is radical-instead of a 2-conference, 6 division set-up, league officials decided on a 4 conference alignment. Two of the conferences would contain 8 teams, and two would have 7. Each team will play the others in its conference 5 or 6 times, while playing the teams in the other 3 conferences twice each. As far as the postseason goes, the top 4 in each conference will square off over two rounds to produce a conference winner, and then the four conference winners will play over two more rounds to determine the Stanley Cup Champion.

     The reaction has been mixed, but there hasn't been any real protest. Some preferred the current arrangement, which is similar to the other three major sports. Others are on board with the new idea. As for me, so far I like it. I don't think that the other sports should adopt it, but for hockey I think it will work. It's a unique idea that helps the NHL stand out. I think fans will ultimately be happy with the changes. I probably would have changed a few of the teams around, though. A look at each new conference:

Conference 'A' (basically the Western Conference): Calgary,Edmonton,Vancouver,Anaheim,Los Angeles,San Jose,Phoenix, and Colorado. Perfect. Nothing wrong with this one. (Although Phoenix might end up losing its team.)

Conference 'B' (pretty much the Central Conference): Winnipeg,Minnesota,Chicago,Detroit,Columbus,St.Louis,Nashville, and Dallas. Pretty good, although I would probably move Nashville. There's really not much else you can do with Dallas.

Conference 'C' (I would call this the Northeast Conference: Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Boston, Buffalo, Florida, Tampa Bay

Conference 'D' (the Eastern or Mid-Atlantic Conference): New York Islanders, New York Rangers, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, Carolina.

I could probably live with these last two (and it seems I'll have to anyway), but I would have changed them around a little bit. I would have switched the two Florida teams and the two New York teams.  I would have also moved New Jersey to Conference C and Nashville to Conference D. The NHL wanted to keep the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York teams together, but I would have drawn a line on the map between them. To me it would have made more sense for things to look like this:

Conference C: Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Boston, Buffalo, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, and New Jersey.

Conference D: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, Nashville, Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay.

Either way, it's a pretty interesting change, and I think it will pay off for the NHL. Now if only more people watched the games......

NFL Picks-Week 14

Last week I had one of my better weeks, finishing at 14-2. My record for the season is 120-72. Of course, this is not against the spread. This week, here's what I've got:

THURSDAY

Pittsburgh over Cleveland. You know, Channel 3 has a lot of good sitcoms on Thursday.

SUNDAY

Baltimore over Indianapolis
Houston over Cincinnati
Green Bay over Oakland
NY Jets over Kansas City
Detroit over Minnesota
New Orleans over Minnesota
Philadelphia over Miami
New England over Washington
Atlanta over Carolina
Tampa Bay over Jacksonville
San Francisco over Arizona
Chicago over Denver
San Diego over Buffalo
Dallas over NY Giants

MONDAY

Seattle over St.Louis

College Football Picks-2011 Totals

In last week's games, I went 17-3, and have a record of 547-193. There's just one regular season game left-Army vs. Navy. One of my favorite games to watch every year, and one of the best rivalries in football. I have grandfathers on both sides of the family that served in the Navy in World War 2, so naturally I always root for the Midshipmen in this game. So Navy is my pick for Saturday's game, with bowl picks to follow soon.

NFL Picks-Week 13

Last week I went 10-6, and stand at 106-70 for the season. This week:

THURSDAY

Seattle over Philadelphia

SUNDAY

Buffalo over Tennessee
Chicago over Kansas City
Miami over Oakland
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
Baltimore over Cleveland
NY Jets over Washington
Houston over Atlanta
Carolina over Tampa Bay
New Orleans over Detroit
Denver over Minnesota
San Francisco over St.Louis
Arizona over Dallas
Green Bay over NY Giants
New England over Indianapolis

MONDAY

San Diego over Jacksonville