Spooky's And its funny how it`s the little things in life that mean the most Express

[Spooky]

A nice sunday and it could have been so much more. It would have been a clean sweep 6 pack with just a bit more scoring with Jaguars and Titans. So close for a huge day. And how does Reggie Wayne drop that pass.

Spooky's helpful tips for Monday, October 12

Bettor's best friend (BBF): Monday's wagering tips

Wild loss for Wildcats backers

If you had Arizona -4 at Washington on Saturday, you probably felt pretty good with a 33-21 lead with three minutes to play. Even after Washington's Jake Locker threw a TD pass, you were still covering at 33-28.

On Arizona's next possession, Nick Foles threw a screen pass low and behind Delashaun Dean. It deflected off Dean's foot right to Washington's Mason Foster, who returned it 37 yards for the go-ahead - and spread-covering - touchdown at 36-33. Arizona's chance at a comeback cover ended with Foles throwing an interception as Washington improved to 4-1 ATS as an underdog.

Monday night nemesis

The Miami Dolphins welcome their nemesis on Monday Night Football, hosting the New York Jets. The Dolphins are 2-8 straight up in the last 10 meetings and even worse against the spread, going 0-8-1 until last year's 24-17 road win in the season finale. In its last five home meetings with New York, Miami is 1-4 SU and 0-5 ATS. The Dolphins are getting one point with a total of 36.

Leaning to the left

The postponement of Saturday's game in Denver means the Colorado Rockies will see all lefthanded starters in their NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. The extra day off allowed Phillies manager Charlie Manuel to switch his Game Three starter from Pedro Martinez to J.A. Happ. After Happ, it will be back to the top of the rotation with Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels.

Colorado batted .253 vs. lefthanders and .264 vs. righthanders during the season. The Rockies were totally shut down by Lee in Game One and face him again Monday in Game Four.

Off on the wrong foot

Vancouver Canucks left wing Daniel Sedin will miss at least four weeks with a broken left foot. Sedin was limited to one assist in Vancouver's first three games, all losses. He had three assists in Wednesday's 7-1 win over Montreal.

Problems Bruin

When the Boston Bruins host the Colorado Avalanche, they will be without defenseman Dennis Wideman, who has a shoulder injury. The disciplined Wideman is tied for second on the team with 10 shots and has a goal, an assist and no penalty minutes. He will be replaced by Johnny Boychuk, who will be playing for the first time this season. The Bruins are -215 with a total of 5.5.

Sunshine State rivalry

In the last five games between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, three have been decided by shootouts, four have ended in 4-3 scores and all five have cleared the total. This season, the Panthers are 2-2 against the over and the Lightning are 3-1. Tampa Bay is -140 with a total of 5.5.

A look ahead

Tuesday's Sun Belt Conference matchup between Arkansas State and Louisiana-Monroe has some extended trends worth a look. The road team has won outright in the last four meetings and the underdog has covered the last nine matchups. Host Louisiana-Monroe is getting one point, with no total yet to be set by oddsmakers.

Under the radar

The Los Angeles Kings began a six-game road trip with a 2-1 victory over St. Louis on Saturday. That was their first road game of the season but extended a streak that has seen the under go 11-1 in the Kings' last 12 road games. Los Angeles is visiting the New York Islanders, and the teams are 3-1-3 vs. the under in the last seven meetings. The Kings are -110 with a total of 5.5.

Notable quotable

"From my blind side, Tom Cable threw me from my chair and into a piece of furniture that a lamp sat upon. He was screaming, 'I'll [expletive] kill you! I'll [expletive] kill you!' And I have no reason to believe he wouldn't have killed me if they hadn't pulled him away. If my head would've hit a different way, I might be dead right now."

-- Former Oakland Raiders defensive assistant Randy Hanson, telling Yahoo! the details of the incident Aug. 5 in which he claims head coach Cable sucker-punched him and broke his jaw.

[Spooky]

Six-pack for Monday

-- Three sweeps in the first round, and Colorado-Philly series is being played on frozen tundra of Coors Field; not the best baseball so far in the first round of the playoffs.

-- Denver Broncos' retro unis weren't good; their socks reminded me of a zebra that fell into a vat of yellow paint they use on school buses.

-- Two of the all-time great draft busts were on the same field Sunday as David Carr and JaMarcus Russell played in the Raider-Giant rout.

-- Cleveland-Buffalo was an exceptionally ugly pro football game.

-- Phillies edged Colorado 6-5 in game that ended at 2:14am Monday; World Champs now lead Rockies 2-1 in best-of-5 series.

-- No American League baseball until Friday, because the geniuses that run baseball let the TV networks lock in starting dates for each series.

[Spooky]

Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up an NFL Sunday.........

13) Highest of drama in Baltimore, where Cincinnati won 17-14 on a TD pass from Palmer to Caldwell with 0:22 left; it was Bengals third straight win by three points, and it came three days after the death of the wife of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. An emotional day for the Bengals.

12) Cedric Benson ran for 120 yards, the first runner to go for 100+ vs Baltimore since Larry Johnson three years ago.

11) More drama in the desert, as Arizona blew a 21-0 halftime lead, got a defensive TD for a go-ahead score with 2:20 left, then stopped Houston at the 1-yard line in the last minute to seal the win. Neither side made a big effort to run the ball. Andre Johnson (8-101, two TDs) was terrific for Houston. Warner was awesome in first half, erratic in the second.

10) Miles Austin turned into Jerry Rice for a day, catching ten passes for 250 yards and two TDs in his first NFL start, as sluggish Cowboys needed OT to beat the gritty but winless Chiefs, 26-20. Dallas scored three TDs, on plays of 36-59-60 yards.

9) Can the NFL step in on this Raiders' situation? The team is pathetic; why do they insist on ruining JaMarcus' Russell's career? As bad as the Rams are, at least they show effort. Oakland is seriously dysfunctional, and there's little evidence that Al Davis still knows what he is doing.

8) Reading up on this Cable/Randy Hanson episode was scary; Cable could be arrested on felony assault charges soon, for breaking the jaw of former assistant coach Randy Hanson back in training camp. Why is this man still coaching the team? Here's one guy Al Davis really should fire.

7) Handicapping Jacksonville games is freakin' useless; they're erratic to the point of being schizophrenic; they've already quit in two of the first five games (Arizona/Seattle) but looked pretty good in the other three.

6) Cleveland QB Derek Anderson was 2-17/23 passing on a sunny day in Buffalo Sunday, and Browns still won 6-3, in one of the worst NFL games I've ever seen. In fairness, Anderson hit his tight end with a pass right on the hands for about a 40-yard gain but the guy dropped it.

5) Browns' offense hasn't scored a TD in nine of their last 11 games.

4) Its no wonder Mike Singletary's son plays basketball for Texas Tech, where his first coach was Bob Knight-- Singletary acts a lot like Knight with his players, lot of yelling. Interesting to see if they keep listening.

3) 0-5 Rams have now lost 14 straight games; they gained 400 yards in their 38-10 loss to Vikings, getting in Minnesota red zone four times, but turning it over on three of those four drives, twice fumbling on the two. St Louis leads NFL in penalties, in lost fumbles, in consecutive losses.

2) I read one guy claiming that the success of Denver's McDaniels is a great reason why owners are going for young coaches instead of older guys; wonder how he would explain coach Morris and the Buccaneers.

1) Atlanta Falcons were razor sharp Sunday, dismantling the 49ers out at Candlestick. Falcons have a wide variety of offensive weapons.



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[Spooky]

Well nothing is changing for tonight.

My son is at the game in Miami. As a huge Jets fan I would never hear the end of it since my Lions are so pitiful.

So my only pleasure in life is to see him feel the way I feel.

Seriously, home divisional underdog on Monday Night Football. Beat me.

NFL

MIAMI DOLPHINS +3

I think it should be high scoring and the Dolphins winning this game gives me a 5-0 in a contest I have entered. Lets go Fish.

[Spooky]

Spooky's helpful tips for Tuesday, October 13

Who fills for the Bills?

As if the Buffalo Bills didn't have enough problems, they are down to their fourth-string middle linebacker. Starter Paul Posluszny is out with a broken arm and fill-ins Kawika Mitchell and Marcus Buggs both suffered season-ending injuries in Sunday's loss to Cleveland.

The starter for next week's road game vs. the New York Jets (no line yet) likely will be Keith Ellison. The Bills have dropped three in a row straight up and against the spread and are 29th against the run, allowing 154.6 yards per game.

Too much rest?

CC Sabathia will start Game One of the ALCS for the New York Yankees. Much will be made of his 0-2 record and 6.85 ERA in two starts vs. the Los Angeles Angels this season. But it should also be noted that Sabathia will be pitching on nine days rest.

Over the last three seasons, Sabathia has made six starts at least a week apart due to rainouts, All-Star breaks or scheduling. In those games, he is 3-2 with a 4.04 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. The outings have run the spectrum, from a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts to a pounding of eight runs in 4 1-3 innings.

The Yankees are -165 vs. the Angels, the third-lowest price they have been at home with Sabathia on the mound this year.

Fanning the Flames

Miikka Kiprusoff didn't start out the season standing on his head, giving up three goals in each of Calgary's first four games. But the Flames won all four, which is all that matters to them and their backers. On Saturday, Kiprusoff got the night off in favor of Curtis McElhinney, who was lit up by Dallas in a 5-2 loss. Expect Kiprusoff to be back between the pipes when the Flames visit the Columbus Blue Jackets. Calgary is +125 with a total of 5.5.

Switch for the Spartans

Michigan State tailback Glenn Winston is out for the season with a knee injury suffered in Saturday's win at Illinois, which may be a blessing in disguise. Winston had 204 yards and two TDs on 60 carries, splitting the rushing load with talented freshman Larry Caper, who has 275 yards and five TDs on 60 carries.

With quarterback Keith Nichol nursing an elbow injury, this could be an ideal time to turn loose Caper. The Spartans are giving 12 points to Northwestern, which is 41st in the country and fourth in the Big Ten in rushing defense, allowing 119.3 yards per game.

Line moves

The line on the Arkansas State-Louisiana-Monroe game opened at even but has swelled to -2 at some books. That may be because WarHawks have covered their last four home games and the home team has won the last four meetings.

On thin ice

In ESPN's Power Rankings, the Toronto Maple Leafs were last and labeled "easily the worst team in the NHL." Toronto dropped its first four games entering Monday's visit to New York and returns to play its first back-to-back against the Colorado Avalanche. The Leafs have allowed 17 goals in four games and are 3-1 against the over. Toronto is -135 with a total of 6.0.

Notable quotable

"There are two types of dogs. There is Hebrew National and the other is generic. One is all meat and one is garbage, and that's what you have this year in football."

-- Wynn Las Vegas sports book director John Avello, revealing that there were some bettors who took the Oakland Raiders and 15.5 points against the unbeaten New York Giants. The Giants won, 44-7, even though quarterback Eli Manning played less than half the game.



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[Spooky]

Six-pack for Tuesday

-- Charlie Manuel got two saves out of Brad Lidge on the road; wow.

-- NLCS starts Thursday; ALCS starts Friday.

-- Chicago Blackhawks beat Calgary in OT after once trailing 5-0; that doesn't happen often in the NHL.

-- If I had a vote in the college football top 25 (and I should), my vote would go to Alabama right now.

-- Jets had covered six straight visits to Miami before losing Monday.

-- Ten years from now, they will be a Jet-Dolphin game on Monday Night Football, and they'll show clips from Monday's game, because Sanchez-Henne will still be playing QB for their respective teams.




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[Spooky]

Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but........

13) Greed knows no bounds. The NFL is charging $90 to go to the Pro Bowl in Miami, and thats for freakin' upper level seats. Good grief.

12) You wonder if the Jets are going all-out to win this year in order to sell PSLs for their new stadium; they've already traded a 1, a 2, two 3's and a 5th-round pick, plus seven players, to land Favre, Sanchez and Braylon Edwards. Thats 11 players to get three, and Favre is gone. Not the best way to construct a long-term winner, but we'll see how it goes.

11) Cedric Benson is leading the NFL in rushing; thats a surprise.

10) Kansas City lost its last nine home games; they used to have one of the best home field advantages in the league. Not anymore.

9) I went to dinner and a out for the night last Friday; caught last couple of innings of the Bronx-Minnesota extra inning game on the radio on the way home, where I was subjected to the worst radio broadcast team in the history of big league baseball. It was an inning before the play/play guy John Sterling reported the umpire had missed the call on the ball Joe Mauer hit down the leftfield line. Kind of an important fact there.

8) Meanwhile, his broadcast partner is Suzyn Waldman, who should at least watch the TV feed to help her partner, since she does none of the play/play work. If New York City is indeed the media capitol, and the Bronx Bombers are such a storied franchise, shouldn't they have as good a broadcast team on TV/radio as humanly possible? Not even close.

7) By the way, no sport gains as much in the translation from TV to in person as hockey. Hard to follow it on TV if you've never seen a game in person-- its great. Lot of neat things happen at a game that never show up in person-- the linesmen, Zambonis, all the fans who wear jerseys of their favorite player. If you've never seen a game in person, go see one.

6) All five Redskin opponents this year were winless when Washington played them, and they play winless Kansas City this week. What will happen when the struggling Redskins start playing good teams?

5) 29 of 32 NFL teams have gotten new/renovated stadiums in the last 20 years; only the Vikings, Chargers and 49ers haven't.

4) I've been a football fan since 1968, I go see every game on TV, even in years like this and last with my Lions, when they're not good. Sunday, Donnie Avery from the Rams scored a TD in the 4th quarter to make the score 31-10 Vikings, a meaningless TD for a team losing its 15th consecutive game. So of course Avery did a Deion Sanders-like dance in the end zone- he looked like a jackass. The head coach addressed it after the game. Avery has since apologized.

3) One huge difference between winning and losing teams in NFL; wide receivers on winning teams are generally much more courageous on balls thrown over the middle than guys on bad teams. Cincinnati receivers in Sunday's win consistently made tough catches in traffic.

2) Suns-Warriors played an outdoor exhibition game Friday on a tennis court (the wooden floor was placed over the court) in Indian Wells, CA. Looked pretty cool on TV.

1) The only part of the NFL pregame shows I care about are when they say who is officially active/inactive that day, and when they make picks of who will win. The NFL is comical the way they pretend gambling doesn't exist. Bringing a Jimmy the Greek-type back would help ratings. We did right here at the forum.



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[Spooky]

Spooky's Fab Five for Tuesday
October 12, 2009

Happy Tuesday everyone.

1. Quick Hits

Down to their last strike the Phillies rally to score 3 runs in the 9th to eliminate the Rockies in 4 games, 5-4. The Phillies will now face the Dodgers in the NL Championship series starting Thursday in L.A. The Governor of Colorado had declared the month to be Rocktober. To quote fark.com "Rocktober is over, welcome to blowvember."

Dee-fense, dee-fense, what defense? In a 4th quarter shootout the Miami Dolphins had the ball last, so they won. They beat the Jets 31-27. There were 35 points scored in the 4th quarter.

Comeback of the night: The Chicago Blackhawks. They trailed Calgary 5-0 in the first period and won 6-5 in overtime. That ties the biggest comeback in NHL history.

2. Quote of the Day

"People can pick and choose whatever they want to write about or talk about and if somebody wants to look at the last 80-90 at-bats and say he wasn't hitting the ball with authority and wasn't strong enough to hit the ball out of the park, they can point to that stat. I think it's ridiculous."
Cardinal skipper Tony La Russa, talking about Albert Pujols

3. Rush to Judgment

I'm thinking there's no way Rush Limbaugh will win approval to be a part owner in the St. Louis Rams. The Players Association has not only complained to the Commissioner, but they're urging players to speak out against Limbaugh. Al Sharpton has started chirping. And last week, the New York Daily News reported that some black players would boycott his team. Limbaugh's Obama bashing has a lot to do with it. Limbaugh also stepped into racial waters when he made some controversial comments about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb back in 2003. Limbaugh makes for "colorful radio," but doesn't exactly form a Rainbow Coalition when it comes to team ownership.

4. Tuesday's game

Underdog covered last eight Arkansas State-ULMonroe games, with the dog winning outright five times; home team won last four meetings. ASU lost its last two visits to Monroe, 30-13/31-27. Sun Belt home teams are 2-5 against spread, 2-3 if favored. State is 0-3 vs D-I teams, but lost by just 24-21 at unbeaten Iowa (+21). Monroe won its first two Sun Belt games, 27-25 at FAU, 48-35 vs FIU-- they've given up 39.3 ppg in their four games vs I-A opponents. 5. Lemme in Coach

The coach of the French soccer team, Raymond Domenech is under fire for his team's performance. But he is also "on fire" to a former porn actress. Catherine Ringer has recorded a hit song in France entitled "Je Kiffe Raymond (I Fancy Raymond). One of the lyrics, “If he attacked my penalty areas, I would be without defenders." Wow. This opens up all sorts of possibilities over here. How about "Je t'aime Bill." (I love Bill). An ode to Bill Parcells. "If he opens my can of tuna, I wouldn't cry illegal procedure."

Happy Birthday: Tonya Harding's buddy, figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. 40.

Bonus Birthday: Borat (or whoever) Sacha Baron Cohen. 38.

Today in Sports: Bill Mazeroski's home run wins the World Series for Pittsburgh against the Yankees. 1960.
Bonus Event: Things will never be the same. They play the first World Series night game in Pittsburgh. The Pirates beat the Orioles 4-3. 1971.



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[Spooky]

Here is some trivial shit to keep you occupied.

Stats of the Week No. 1: Miles Austin, undrafted out of Monmouth and a friend of my best friend, not only had 250 yards receiving, he did so in his first NFL start.


Stats of the Week No. 2: Tom Brady is 1-5 in regular-season games against Denver; he has a winning regular-season record against every other team.


Stats of the Week No. 3: Cedric Benson became the first running back in 39 games to rush for at least 100 yards against Baltimore.


Stats of the Week No. 4: Minnesota has won six consecutive road games.


Stats of the Week No. 5: Cincinnati went 14 quarters without scoring an offensive touchdown -- then scored two in the second half against Baltimore.


Stats of the Week No. 6: Buffalo held Cleveland to nine first downs, 22 yards passing and a quarterback passer rating of 15.1 -- and lost.


Stats of the Week No. 7: St. Louis staged three drives that reached inside the Minnesota 10-yard line yet resulted in no points.


Stats of the Week No. 8: Oakland at Jersey/A pitted the last-ranked offense against the first-ranked defense; the Raiders were held to 124 total yards.


Stats of the Week No. 9: Indianapolis is on a 14-1 run, with its sole loss an overtime defeat in which it never got the ball in the extra session.


Stats of the Week No. 10: A total of 29 players handled the ball -- running, passing or receiving -- on offensive snaps in the Jets-Dolphins game Monday.



Sweet Drive of the Week: OK, it wasn't a 99-yard drive, only 98 yards. Trailing 17-10, Denver took possession on its own 2-yard line in the fourth quarter and went the distance, aided by an odd penalty against New England for taunting. Supposedly no good, Kyle Orton was 7-for-10 for 76 yards and a touchdown on the drive; the Flying Elvii got nervous and big-blitzed six on the snap that turned into the tying touchdown. As for those brown-and-candy-orange throwbacks -- I'd like to see Denver in its Sugar Daddy apparel play Seattle in its Green Men Group kryptonite green. (And if you're wondering, "What astonishing strategy did Seattle use to beat Jacksonville 41-0?" the answer is tosses and down-and-outs -- the game plan was basic, Seattle just played better.)



Why didn't Bill Belichick order a punt rush on the final snap of regulation? With 15 seconds remaining until overtime, Denver faced a fourth-and-15 at midfield, with New England holding a timeout. Rush eight men and try to block the punt! You're not going to get a 90-yard touchdown return. Yet New England dropped its punt team back to block for a return, then knelt to accept overtime. Being toasty warm in his heavy parka kept Belichick from thinking aggressively.


Sweet Play of the Week: Pittsburgh worked the tight end screen to perfection for a touchdown. Linebackers always assume that if a tight end lingers near the line, it's to block. Because the Steelers-Lions game was off the radar, you may not realize that Detroit, trailing 28-20, reached the Pittsburgh 21-yard line at the two-minute warning. Cautionary note: Beginning in the Super Bowl, Pittsburgh has played tight man-on-man coverage in the first three quarters and built leads, then shifted to soft zones in the fourth quarter and squandered leads. This pattern held in the Steelers' Week 4 game against the Chargers and again against the Lions. In two meetings in the calendar year 2009 -- in the 2008 playoffs, and then in the 2009 regular season -- San Diego has scored 17 points against Pittsburgh in the first three quarters and 35 points in the fourth quarter. Detroit looked good against Pittsburgh in the fourth quarter, too.



Sour Play of the Week No. 1: Scoring to pull within 20-19 with 24 seconds remaining in regulation, Kansas City could have gone for two and the win: Todd Haley sent out the PAT unit, and the Chiefs wheezed out in overtime. Kansas City came into the contest having lost 29 of its past 35 games. The team has developed a loser's psychology. Timid calls will not change a loser's psychology! This was a chance for the signature play of a Kansas City turnaround; instead, yet another defeat. Dick Vermeil once went for the win in a similar situation -- that was "back in the day," when the Chiefs were feared.



Sour Play of the Week No. 2: Rallying from a 21-0 deficit, Houston reached first-and-goal on the Arizona 6 with 1:27 seconds remaining, trailing 28-21, with the defending NFC champion in danger of becoming a Tennessee-like collapse case. A run made it second-and-goal on the 1, then Arizona called timeout to preserve its own chance for a winning field goal. A run was stuffed, then Arizona called timeout again. On third-and-goal from the 1, Houston tried a misdirection play-fake; Matt Schaub rolled out, tight end Joel Dreessen was by himself in the end zone; Schaub launched an awful pass, incompletion. Everything about the pass was sour; Schaub's mechanics were all wrong, he never squared his shoulder or set his feet, and he wasn't even under pressure! Then Houston called timeout, and on fourth-and-goal from the 1, ran a plain vanilla straight-up-the-middle dive -- no misdirection -- which failed. Besides a sour pass and a predictable final play, all those timeouts seemed to drain the momentum from the Houston comeback.


Sweet 'N' Sour Play: Kansas City leading 3-0, the Chiefs had third-and-goal on the Cowboys' 1. Linebacker Mike Vrabel reported eligible as an extra tight end; Matt Cassel play-faked and tossed to Vrabel in the left corner of the end zone for the touchdown. It was Vrabel's 10th career reception, all for touchdowns on goal-line plays, which was sweet. He, Cassel and general manager Scott Pioli learned this play from Bill Belichick when they were together in New England. What was sour is that Dallas was surprised. Vrabel catching the play-fake at the goal line is not exactly a state secret.

[Spooky]

Wednesday's List of 13: Our NFL List of 13, with a new twist....

We're changing things up on the List of 13; we're going to divide it up, the bottom five and the top eight.

32) Raiders-- How bad are Charlie Frye and Bruce Gradkowski if they can't beat out JaMarcus Russell to play QB for this sorry team? Throw in the fact their coach could be arrested any day now, and it has to be a lot of fun rooting for this hapless franchise.

31) Rams-- Friend of mine asked me why Rush Limbaugh would want to own a team as bad as the Rams, a team that has contributed more money to the Democratic Party than any other NFL team? Politics ain't what I know, but I think the Rams are getting better on the field. Problem is, all that matters are wins and losses, and the Rams don't have any wins.

30) Buccaneers-- I'm sure people in London are thrilled winless Bucs are playing New England there next week. Second time in three years NFL is sending its worst team overseas.

29) Bills-- Every Sunday, bunch of Bills' fans comes into the bar to see the Bills play; they start out nice and loud, chants and all, but are quiet as church mice by halftime. Just like clockwork.

28) Browns-- Eric Mangini has done more for the Jets since they got rid of him than he did when he worked for them. Now Brady Quinn is on the way out, three years after they traded a #1 pick to get him. Terrific.

8) Eagles-- Wait til this winter, when Philly gets an extra draft pick for giving Michael Vick a home this season. The rich will get richer.

7) Falcons-- An offensive juggernaut that has to outscore its opponents, since the defense has issues.

6) Bengals-- Adversity can bring people closer together; right now, the Bengal family has more than its share of adversity. Having Palmer back under center makes all the difference, too.

5) Vikings-- Making noise about a new stadium; it would be more than a little weird if the Los Angeles Vikings ever came to be, but it could.

4) Broncos-- Outscored last four opponents 50-0 in the second half.

3) Giants-- Manning's foot injury drops them a slot; a win in Superdome Sunday puts them on top of the list.

2) Colts-- Apparently, teams play really well a year after Tony Dungy stops coaching them. For further evidence, see Gruden, Jon.

1) Saints-- Interested to see if they can stop Giant run game Sunday; if they do and win game, they're clear-cut frontrunner for NFC title.

[Spooky]

SPOOKY'S FAB FIVE FOR HUMP DAY, OCTOBER 14, 2009

Happy Wednesday everyone.

1. Quick Hits

Yankee starting pitchers for the next series take one step forward. Not so fast Joba Chamberlain. Manager Joe Girardi says the Yankees may stick with a 3 man pitching rotation against the Angels.

A day off from baseball. The NL Championship series starts tomorrow, the AL begins Friday.

Could be....maybe..... Dodger manager Joe Torre could "hang 'em up after next season." Red Sox reliever Billy Wagner told the New York Post he's likely retiring.

Giants Super Bowl "helmet catcher" David Tyree signs with Baltimore. He may have made the greatest Super Bowl catch of all time

Stat of the day. When the Washington Redskins play Kansas City Sunday it will mark their 6th straight game against a winless team. (Of course the first week everyone is winless.) Despite the cupcake schedule, Washington is 2 and 3.

2. Dead in the Water

Rush Limbaugh ain't becoming an NFL owner. Talk about a tempest in a teapot. The NFL Commissioner said yesterday that it wouldn't be appropriate to have an owner who makes controversial statements. Colts owner Jim Irsay says he'd vote "Ixnay" on Limbaugh.
3. A Booming Olympics

How's this for an idea? Build an Olympics around death. The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are launching a joint bid to host the 2020 games. Yes, those were the two cities that had atomic bombs dropped on them in World War II. Maybe they could tinker with the Olympic sports and venues. They could run the boat races on "Titanic Lake." And in the Olympic coliseum they could stage a new fun event: throwing Christians to lions. But I would low-key the fireworks at the Opening Ceremony.

4. What are the Odds?

Next time you feel bad about your team, ponder the plight of Washington Nationals fan Stephen Krupin. He's a season ticket holder who went to 19 games this season. During those games, the Nats record was 0-19. Taking into account that the Nationals home record was 33-48, what are the odds of that? The Washington Post figured 1 in 131,204. So cheer up Mets fans. The Mets actually had a winning record at home, 41-40.

5. Fleeting Fame

When I saw that Larry Jansen passed away the other day, I got to thinking. Jansen was the winning pitcher when Bobby Thomson hit his famous home run for the Giants in 1951. Few people remember Jansen. But everyone knows Ralph Branca's name, and he was the losing pitcher. Kinda like all those airplanes that land safely isn't it?

Happy Birthday: UCLA's legendary basketball coach John Wooden. 99!

Bonus Birthday: Singer/actor Usher. 31.

Today in Sports: Pitching on two days rest, the Dodgers Sandy Koufax pitches a 3-hit shutout to win game 7 of the World Series against the Twins. 1965.

Bonus Event: And Tigger Too? Winnie the Pooh hits the shelves. 1926.

[Spooky]

Spooky's helpful tips for Thursday, October 15

Get me out of here

Stephen Jackson is still unhappy with his situation in Golden State. The shooting guard/small forward reiterated his desire to leave the Warriors yesterday telling reporters, “If they want to send me home and pay me, I’m fine with that.”

Jackson was fined $150,000 following an altercation during a preseason game with coach Don Nelson. The veteran bench boss believes he can work things out with Jackson, but the former team captain didn’t sound as optimistic.

“Anytime somebody takes $150,000 from you, your relationship is going to cange, regardless of who it is,” Jackson told the San Francisco Chronicle. “If my mom took some money from me, I’d still love her to death, but I’d still be upset about it. He’s not my mom, so you can imagine how I feel. …

“I have to listen to him on the court and that’s it.”

Oddsmakers have the Warriors season win total set at 35.5.

Raiders resemble scrimmage team?

Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce didn’t hold back when he was asked about the Raiders during a radio interview.

“Honestly, it felt like a scrimmage, like practice,” Pierce said. “It felt like we were going against our offense (in practice) as far as the tempo.”

He went on to say:

“There was no vibe of trying or effort from the Raiders at all from a defensive standpoint against their offense. We’re getting three-and-outs. You don’t hear nobody (saying), ‘Hey, let’s go!’ trying to pick the guys up, rallying them, getting guys fired up. There was nothing.”

Oakland has scored just 16 points in its last three games. Oddsmakers are giving the sad-sack club 14 points at home to the Eagles this weekend.

No Vanek vanishing

Buffalo Sabres winger Thomas Vanek’s injured shoulder, or upper-body injury as the team affectionately calls it, isn’t as bad as originally feared.

After Vanek left before the end of Buffalo’s 6-2 win over Detroit on Tuesday night, coach Lindy Ruff thought the wound could shelf Vanek for several weeks.

Now Ruff is saying he could have his two-time 40-goal scorer back as soon as Friday (more likely Saturday).

The Sabres have jumped out to a 3-0-1 start and Vanek is leading the way with three goals. No odds have been set yet for Friday’s game when the club hosts the Islanders.

Winning comfortably

The Bearcats face their biggest test this season on Thursday when they visit South Florida. Cincinnati is 17-3 straight up dating back to the start of last season and most of those wins haven’t been of the narrow variety.

Cincy is outscoring opponents by an average of 28.2 points this season and the club is 4-2 against the spread as a short favorite (between -1 and -6.5) over the last two years.

The Bearcats are 2.5-point favorites in Thursday’s Big East tilt.

[Spooky]

Six-pack for Thursday

Some NFL trends with Week 6 upon us........

-- Carolina covered seven of last nine as a divisional road favorite.

-- Chiefs covered one of their last eight games against the NFC.

-- Tampa Bay is 1-8-1 vs spread in its last ten games.

-- Green Bay covered five of its last seven after a bye.

-- Cleveland Browns covered one of its last six road games.

-- Buffalo Bills covered two of their last eight divisional games.

[Spooky]

I will be out of the forum world today and will not be around tonight to post anything so lets get it started with the Baseball for now. And will be back on Friday
with lots more good stuff.

Guess I should have played that Teaser last night instead.

MLB playoffs: Phillies-Dodgers series preview and pick

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers


Pitching

Los Angeles’ starters don't get credited with too many victories, but they always keep their team in the game. Despite the fact no Dodgers hurler won more than 12 games during the regular season, L.A. led the majors with a 3.44 team ERA.

Randy Wolf, Clayton Kershaw, Hiroki Kuroda, Vicente Padilla and Jon Garland all sported ERAs under 4.00, while Chad Billingsley had an allowance of 4.02. Wolf, Kershaw and Padilla combined to limit the Cardinals to four runs over 17.1 innings in the NLDS.

Philadelphia's rotation has plenty of star power, led by lefties Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. Lee snapped out of a late-season slump by posting a 1.10 ERA in two starts against Colorado in the NLDS, but Hamels was knocked around in his only appearance. Rookie J.A. Happ was Philly's third starter against the Rockies and gave up three runs in three innings. Pedro Martinez might also make a start for the Phillies.

While the Dodgers have a slight edge in the starting rotation, they enjoy a huge advantage in the bullpen. Los Angeles was far and away the regular-season leader in bullpen ERA (3.18), while the Phillies were 13th (3.90). Late leads are a lot safer with L.A.'s Jonathan Broxton than Philly's Brad Lidge, though Lidge did record two saves in the NLDS.

Offense

Though the Dodgers had a higher team batting average than the Phillies during the regular season (.270 to .258), Philadelphia scored 34 more runs. The Phillies do most of their damage with the long ball. Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez all clubbed 30-plus homers, and Howard drove in 141 runs. Philly's offense carried the team in the NLDS, scoring 20 runs and collecting 40 hits in four games. Howard drove in six runs and Ibanez knocked home five.

The L.A. offense scored 13 runs and rapped out 29 hits in three games last round against some pretty good Cardinals pitching. Manny Ramirez, who struggled this season after returning from his 50-game suspension, had three doubles and two RBI in the series, while Rafael Furcal and Andre Ethier each contributed six hits. The Dodgers need more from Russell Martin (1-for-9 last round) and Matt Kemp (2-for-14).

Intangibles

Philadelphia easily defeated the Dodgers in last year's NLCS on the way to winning the World Series. Los Angeles got the better of the Phillies this season, winning four of seven matchups during the regular season.

The Dodgers, who are 52-31 at Chavez Ravine this season, have home-field advantage. That shouldn't faze the Phillies, though, considering they're 50-33 away from Citizens Bank Ballpark this year. Conspiracy theorists might believe Major League Baseball will do whatever it takes to get a Dodgers/Yankees matchup in the World Series.


MLB

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES +116 (SERIES WAGER)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES +126 (GAME 1) HUGE!!!

[Spooky]

Spooky's helpful tips for Friday, October 16

Let it rain

The forecast for the start of the ALCS is not a pretty. It is possible that heavy rain and cold winds could alter how both teams approach playing in New York.

The National Weather Service is predicting a 40 percent chance of rain for Friday and a 50 percent chance of a shower for Game 2 Saturday with temperatures expected to be in the low 40s.

The Yankees planned to go with a three-man rotation, with 19-game winner C.C. Sabathia starting Game 1 followed by A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte. However, inclement weather could throw a wrench into those plans.

A potential rainout would force Yankees' skipper Joe Girardi to go with a four man rotation, which means either Joba Chamberlain or Chad Gaudin are likely to get the call. If Chamberlain were to start, New York would lose his arm as a bridge to closer Mariano Rivera. Gaudin was 6-10 with a 4.84 ERA in 25 starts this season.

"From what I understand, it's going to be chilly (Friday) night," Girardi said. "You get different forecasts all the time. ... Only Mother Nature knows that, so you kind of cross that bridge when you have to."

A rain-soaked field could be an advantage for the Bronx Bombers who are more used to dealing with nasty weather than their Californian counterparts.

"This is Yankee weather," catcher Jorge Posada said. "We've been playing like this all year. It seems like every time we come home, it's been raining. We deal with it and they have to deal with it."

The Angles were third in the majors with 148 stolen bases this season and slick base paths could change their game plan and take away one of their major assets for games played in New York.

"I don't know," Posada said. "It's tough to run with a wet field. We'll see."

No running on Rutgers

Since their season-opening loss to Cincinnati, the Scarlet Knights' defense has not allowed their opponents any wiggle room on the gridiron. Their suffocating defense is allowing only an average of 65.2 yards per game after holding their past three opponents to a combined 45 rushing yards.

"Stopping the run is what we do here at Rutgers." coach Greg Schiano said.

They will have their work cut out for them against a Pitt team that averages over 166 yards per game on the ground.

A blitz-heavy defense has Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt concerned.

"You have to handle it physically, but they force you to handle it mentally, too," He told reporters."You have to be sharp. Very seldom are they sitting still and just saying, 'Here's where we are at, come and block us.' "

Wannstedt has a right to be worried, he hasn't be able to beat Rutgers since taking over the Panthers in 2005. Four consecutive losses, including last year's 54-34 debacle at Heinze Field, have his players out for revenge.

"There's definitely motivation for us in this game," Pitt linebacker Adam Gunn said. "They came in here and really put it on us. We know we have to play a lot better than we did last year, and we have to prove it."

Oddsmakers have Rutgers listed as 5.5-point underdogs with the total set at 45 ½.

Brodeur might get a break

Martin Brodeur (3-2, 2.93 GAA) has played every game for the Devils this season, but this weekend he might get a much deserved break.

Coach Jacques Lemaire is trying to decide when would be best to give his heralded netminder a rest. The Devils are favored against the Atlanta Thrashers Friday at -166 and will host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. If Brodeur does take a seat, unproven Yann Danis will take his place.

"We can't look for an easier game because there's none," Lemaire said. "I don't know exactly when he'll step in, but he will soon. I just want to see how good we're playing. If we play [well], we'll give him a chance."

New Jersey inked Danis in the offseason to be Brodeur's backup after losing Scott Clemmensen to Florida in free agency. Danis played well during stints in Long Island and Montreal, posting a 2.84 GAA and .910 save percentage, but has only taken the ice for 37 NHL games.

"I've just been watching Marty and some of the things he does, especially playing the puck," Danis said. "I think it's one of my weaknesses and to see what he's able to do, he's like a third defenseman. And seeing him every day and understanding that everything he does, there's always a thought behind it. Whatever he does is calculated and he works hard at it in practice."

Manuel won't name closer

Even though Brad Lidge has preserved two one-run victories for Philadelphia this postseason, manager Charlie Manuel doesn't feel that he is guaranteed to get the ball in save situations during the NLCS.

"I don't want to sit here today and say one guy is going to be the closer on our team yet," he said. "I don't feel like I have to do that. I feel like our guys accept when I'm going to put them in the game."

Ryan Madson has been the Phils' other option to close out games, but with six blown chances to only 10 saves during the regular season, he has been more unreliable than Lidge.

That doesn't seem to matter to the Phillies colorful bench boss. When asked who would close, he replied, “Whoever you see walking out there.”

[Spooky]

Six-pack for Friday

Some college football trends with Week 6 upon us........

-- Favorite covered eight of last ten Ohio State-Purdue games.

-- San Diego State covered nine of last 13 as a home underdog.

-- Indiana is 8-13 vs spread in its last 21 Big 11 home games.

-- Underdog is 14-7 vs spread in last 21 Oklahoma-Texas games.

-- Home side covered seven of last eight Virginia-Maryland games.

-- Georgia is 2-8 vs spread in game after its last ten losses.

[Spooky]

Friday Seven Pack to round out a bakers dozen: Random thoughts from the a fall day here in Jersey........

7) Air Force is 3-3, despite a +16 turnover ratio.

6) If Idaho and Boise State keep winning, would ESPN Gameday go to Boise for their November 14 game?

5) Iowa has 18 interceptions in its last five games; three of their six wins are by three or less points.

4) UNLV allowed 850 rushing yards, 122 points in its last two games.

3) USC outscored Notre Dame 76-3 in their last two meetings.

2) Georgia has been -2 or worse in turnovers in five of their six games; so far this season, the disappointing 3-3 Dawgs are -13 in turnovers.

1) I'd love to know if these midweek college football games on ESPN are any help to the schools' recruiting efforts.

[Spooky]

Daily Sports Roundup for Friday, October 16

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Angels begin the ALCS in New York, the Dodgers host the Phillies again, and Pittsburgh tries to get a win at Rutgers.
Colliding on the gridiron . . .

Friday night's college football matchup has Pittsburgh at Rutgers, with the Panthers pegged as 3.5-point road favorites (and the total at 48 points). Pittsburgh (5-1 straight-up, 3-2 against-the-spread) slipped past Connecticut 24-21 last time out, with Bill Stull throwing for 268 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Rutgers (4-1 SU, 1-2 ATS) blasted Texas Southern 42-0 in their last game. De'Antwan Williams rushed for 132 yards and a score in that win for the Knights.

As well, there's one Canadian Football League game on tap for Friday, with Edmonton (6-8 SU, 5-9 ATS) on the road to take on Toronto (3-11 SU, 5-8-1 ATS). The Eskimos are listed as 4-point road favorites, with the total at 51 points.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

The American League Championship Series opens up in the Bronx on Friday night, with CC Sabathia and the Yankees hosting John Lackey and the Angels. Lefthander Sabathia picked up a win in his ALDS outing against the Twins, holding the opposition to two runs (one earned) on eight hits over his 6 2-3 innings of work - and fanning eight. Righthander Lackey beat the Red Sox last round, tossing 7 1-3 scoreless innings while giving up four hits and fanning four.

As well, it's Game 2 of the NLCS on Friday afternoon, with the Dodgers again hosting the Phillies. Los Angeles will go with Vicente Padilla in the Game 2 matchup. Righthander Padilla blanked the Cardinals over seven innings in his NLDS outing, giving up just four hits and striking out four batters. Pedro Martinez is penciled in to start for Philadelphia on Friday. Righthander Martinez has yet to pitch in the playoffs, but the Phillies went 8-1 in his nine regular-season outings.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Finally, there are six games on the ice on Friday night, with Atlanta at New Jersey, the Islanders at Buffalo, Philadelphia at Florida, Boston at Dallas, Minnesota at Edmonton, and Vancouver at Calgary. The Canucks beat the Stars 4-3 in their last game, but they've lost forward Daniel Sedin and defenseman Sami Salo indefinitely due to injuries. The Flames were edged 2-1 by the Blue Jackets last time out; Curtis Glencross had the lone goal for Calgary in that loss.

[Spooky]

Spooky's Fab Five for Friday, October 16, 2009

TGIF everyone

1. Quick Hits

Game 1 for the American League pennant is tonight at Yankee Stadium. (Weather permitting.) Angels @ Yankees. 7:57pm ET FOX.

The champion Phillies won game 1 for the NL pennant 8-6. Game 2, Philadelphia @ Dodgers this afternoon in L.A.: 4:07 p ET TBS.

Rush Limbaugh says his ouster as a possible Rams owner represents "Obama's America on full display." (Whatever that means.)

2. Pennant Chasers

Games aren't decided on paper, but the truth is, on paper rain helps the Angels. If games get rained out, off days go away. And since the Angels have 4 starters and the Yankees 3, edge to the Angels. Of course the Yankees have Mariano Rivera, but I thought we agreed not to decide this thing on paper? Just ask the Phillies. Their supposedly awful bullpen got some key outs last night against the Dodgers. By the way, the game ended about 12:15 this morning. Those earlier starts
this year are working out great aren't they?

3. Scooby Dooby Doo

With the Yanks in the playoffs, if you're a Sinatra fan or a Yankee fan, this one's for one. Check out this link.
SINATRA.COM | Calling All Sinatra Fans

It's Sal Scognamillo of Patsy's Restaurant in NYC recalling the night that Billy Martin and the 1978 champion Yankees met Frank Sinatra. And nobody got hurt. Enjoy.

4. Quote of the Day
"On behalf of Lakers and Kings, enjoy the game...
remember what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."


Ron Artest, addressing the crowd before the Lakers-Kings game

5. Give everyone a Hand

Lets end the week with this, when checking out the
"Master Baiters" item I posted the other day, I checked out the "Master Baiters" web site.
They charter fishing boats in Puerto Vallarta Mexico. Their motto: "We won't jerk you around." Honest.


Happy Birthday: Former 7'6" NBA center Manute Bol. 47.

Bonus Birthday: Pitcher "Nuke" LaLoosh in Bull Durham, and fellow Stuyvesant alum, Tim Robbins. 51.

Today in Sports: The Miracle Mets! They win the World Series. 1969.

Bonus Event: What a relief. The Tremont House in Boston, becomes the first hotel in the U.S. to have indoor plumbing. 1869. (Hey, back to back events about Flushing!)

[Spooky]

Spooky thinks we should blame Vince Young

I've been doing a lot of thinking recently. It has come to my attention that college football just isn't the same anymore. The on-field product just isn't as entertaining as it once was. Fuck, it's boring. And I think that I can pinpoint exactly when and where everything went wrong. It seems that as soon as Texas won the national title in that epic game against USC, it has all gone downhill from that game. That game was the apex of the game's greatness and ever since, nothing has come close.

And this season isn't offering up much drama either. In fact, when the best game of the year is an 18-15 snoozefest in Columbus, we've got problems.

One thing that is killing the sport this year is the shitty QB play. Other than Jimmy Clausen and Tim Tebow, there are no BCS QB's playing at an elite level. And even Tebow hasn't been other-worldly. Bradford got hurt. McCoy has been mediocre. Matt Barkley has been average. The best QB in the Big Ten throws worse passes than the drummer from Def Leppard. Jevan Snead couldn't play in the Sun Belt. And the Taylor kid from Va Tech may as well not have arms at all. What happened to all the good/great QB's!!! In comparison, look at the NFL. Ratings have never been better and I like to think that the sicktitude of Brees, Favre, and the Manning Brothers have a lot to do with that. Quarterbacks drive interest and right now, when it comes to the college game, I have very little.

Let's also look at the top ten rankings and comment on the blandness of each team:

1. Florida - Yeah, they're a very good team but they haven't been dominant.

2. Alabama - I'll give them credit, Saban's team is destroying everyone. I love this. Don't play down to your competition. Come out firing every damn week.

3. Texas - See above except the Longhorns are the exact opposite. They struggled with a Colorado team last week that got blown out by Toledo.

4. Virginia Tech - Most boring team ever? Most boring team ever.

5. Boise State - I love the little guy but when you sleepwalk through wins over UC-Davis and Tulsa, you aren't one of the 5 best teams in the country.

6. USC - They beat Washington State by only 20 points. Despicable.

7. Ohio State - Great defense, piss-poor offense. The sad thing is, they are in prime position to lose a BCS title game by 40 points this year.

8. Cincinnati - If you can't beat the RedHawks by 40, you aren't THAT good.

9. The U - I'm not sure if these guys are truly for real...but at least they are enjoyable to watch.

10. LSU - They are Ohio State Lite. I think that their offense might be worse though.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that none of these teams feel truly elite. Which is leading to a dull season. Sure, upsets are great and all, but I don't think that it speaks to parity. It's just that none of these teams really that good.

I don't know. These things tend to be cyclical. Maybe we are just experiencing a few down years after a few great years. What I do know is that Sundays have become far better football days than Saturdays. Hell, the only game that I am actually looking forward to the rest of year is the SEC title game. Nothing else. Seriously. I'm sure that someone will come here in defense of college football talking about how it still a great product and to that I say this:

Try staying sober for a full Saturday of football and see how long it takes you to consider suicide. Go ahead, give it a try. I would bet that most of you would get the shotgun out at about halftime of the noon Big Ten games. Pam Ward does that effect on people.

BEAT NOTRE DAME!!!!