I’m puzzled by the early spread on the Superbowl. I tabbed the Steelers at about minus eleven with an over/under of about forty two. The current spread is Steelers -7, o/u 47. I’ll gladly offer the easiest seven since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers snuck under everybody’s radar in the 2003 Superbowl, but find the 47 [...]
The Sporting News Scouts conur with what I have been yelling, nay, bellowing for weeks now. Arizona Cardinal QB Kurt Warner must be defended with aggression on the line. In the first half of the Cardinals-Eagles NFC Championship game on Sunday, the Eagles rushed four and dropped seven into coverage. Warner carved the defence with [...]
The Pittsburgh Steelers play the, ahem, Arizona Cardinals, in the Superbowl on Feb 1st. And I have the Steelers. At six to one. Oh, my, it is a beautiful morning…no, I’m not taking the match seriously. It’s a Steeler blow-out from start to finish. With two weeks to recover after that hellacious rumble with the [...]
Damn, it’s an exciting day. Not quite “Big Fight” level of joy, but pretty close. The AFC & NFC championship games are at hand and it’s time for punters to take a stand. Yeah, no one gets a pass on the final three NFL matches. It’s time to show your mojo, your money making strut and [...]
The St Louis Rams have removed Jim Haslett, their interim coach, from consideration for the full time gig. Despite the protestations of the players, it’s the savvy move. The players adored Haslett but would not, or could not, win for him…I don’t understand why some team does not put together an attractivre package of draft [...]
The rehabilitation of the Dallas Cowboys could well begin with the release of Terrell Owens in the next few weeks. Owens has a 3.1 million dollar bonus due in March and that is likely going to provide the impetus for the termination of the living distraction…Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco has picked up the nickname [...]
The Toronto Maple Leafs have received the worse news possible as they careen down the NHL standings. The New York Islanders, their main opponent in the John Tavares Derby, have announced that their “all-world” goalie Rick DiPietro is likely out for the season. DiPietro alone would have won a few games, moving the Isles past [...]
The NBA.com site, of all places, is the latest source of a wild Toronto Raptor rumour. The hinted at deal looks basically like this; Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon to Phoenix for Steve Nash (with a few others thrown in to balance the salaries). If Bryan Colangelo believes that Calderon is essentially, and despite the hype, a good “back [...]
There is a very straightforward formula I use to get my bearings before analysing an NFL Playoff Match up. I take a team’s defensive ranking, double it (due to the importance of defence in the post season), and add the offense ranking. For example, the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the #1 ranked defence and the #22 [...]
Here are the intriguing stats for teams coming off a first round bye in the NFL Playoffs. The home favourites are 30-6 straight up since Jan 1991, and 22-13-1 against the spread. But in the last eight years, according to Marc Lawrence, favourites are 25-11 straight up and a dismal 16-19-1 against the spread. Last [...]
