AFC Wild Card Playoff Predictions

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So the with the end of the Regular Season coming to a close, and the playoffs about to begin I will start to analyze the upcoming AFC playoff games for this weekend. If you had told me in August that the Tim Tebow led Broncos, along with the Texans and Bengals would be continuing their season into January I would have been willing to bet everything I own on it. Fortunately for me I didn’t…

Bengals @ Texans

The Bengals come in losing five of their last eight. All of those loses came to AFC playoff teams, one of them being the Texans. Even with Schaub sidelined the Texans can still offer one of the AFC’s best offenses simply because of the run game they have. Their defense is solid and was what got them where they are today. The young Bengals offense has really shined this year led by the rookie combination of Andy Dalton and A.J. Green. I expect this one to be a low scoring game based on the strength of both defenses. The Texans are favored in this one but I see otherwise, I’m going with the Bengals.

Prediction: Bengals 17 Texans 14

Steelers @ Broncos

I for one am certainly glad that all the Tebow hype is over. He finally came down to earth and is playing more like the QB he really is. I cannot take away the fact that the guy is a proven winner, which is literally the only reason the Broncos even have a shot here. The Steelers are injury depleted and I feel like it is definitely going to hurt their playoff chances. Big Ben is still shaken up; Mendenhall is done for the playoffs, and Ryan Clark being kept out of this one. Luckily for the Steelers they are facing a team that went 8-8 in the regular season, but have the talent of a 5-11 team. Like the other AFC Wildcard game I expect this one to be low scoring. Tebow better do some extra praying this week. His savior doesn’t save him here; Steelers win.

Steelers 20 Broncos 13

BSB Pick of the Day

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Okay so it hasn’t been a great start to this whole new pick of the day thing, but I’m confident I’ll get back on track and hopefully it starts right here. The Orange Bowl between West Virginia and Clemson looks to be one of the more exciting games of the bowl season. With the spread at 3 so far this game is definitely a toss-up for me, so I’m gonna go with the over of 63 on this one. The teams combined average over 68 points per game this season and I see it continuing as neither team has a top-tier defense. I’m going with the over of 63 as my pick of the day.

Aging Celtics Live On

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Well it looks like Pierce was the missing link. First three games without the captain, 0-3. Last three games with him, 3-0. You do the math. I’m not saying he single handedly won these games, but how can you argue that he wasn’t the deciding factor. If not performing on the court, his mere presence uplifted the team to where it needed to be. After a rocky start, and especially after the loss to the Hornets, thoughts of concern started to set in. Could it be a repeat of 06-07? No. Now, back to .500, these thoughts have been erased. We’ve seen how the C’s can play. Even last night, the second game in a set of back to backs, the boys proved they could win. Granted it was the Wizards, my point stands. During the first quarter it looked like they were going to pull away, with stretches of brilliant transition basketball. If the Celts can mock this kind of play, not even each game, but steadily throughout the shortened season, they should be just fine come playoff time. The big names are continuing to show how great they are and the others, including younger guys are beginning to step up. And on a side note, I’ll continue to comment on how much of a steal Brandon Bass was. Each night he continues to let it be known too. Ridiculous. The team may be rough around the edges at first, but the Celtics will pull it all together. Doc wouldn’t allow anything less. It’s no secret to anyone that this could very well be the last year the core of this team is together. And by no means would any of them let it go to waste.

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Gone Bowlin’

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Two great BCS Bowl matchups yesterday. #5 Oregon edged out #10 Wisconsin 45-38 and #3 Oklahoma State amazingly figured out how to kick a field goal through the uprights and beat #4 Stanford 41-38 in overtime.

First off, Nike never fails to impress by putting out incredible uniforms game after game for Oregon. Oregon sported shiny numbers and mirrored helmets, both of which matched pretty well with the trophy thier program earned from its first Rose Bowl win in the last 95 years.

Their game was highlighted by monster runs from speedster De’Anthony Thomas, and three passing touchdowns from Darren Thomas. Despite 621 yards of total offense from Oregon, Wisconsin had a solid chance to win the game in its final minutes. After Jared Abbrederis caught a 29 yard pass from Russell Wilson, Oregon forced a fumble to recover the ball at their own 27. Wisconsin got the ball back and charged 62 yards downfield to Oregons 25 yard line, where they failed to spike the ball before the clock ran out, ending the game.

As if the Rose Bowl wasn’t chaotic enough, the Fiesta Bowl proved even better for those who stayed up to watch it. It was two great college teams, with two of the best NFL prospects on the field. Wide Reciever Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State came up big everytime his team needed a play and ended the game 8 receptions, 186 yards, and 3 touchdowns. On the other side, consensus future number 1 draft pick Andrew Luck, quarterback of Stanford, completed 27-31 passes for 347 yards and consistently put his team in a posistion to win the game.

Unfortunately for Stanford, the game came down to their redshirt freshman kicker Jordan Williamson. The kid just didn’t have it in him. After Oklahoma State called a timeout to ice him before a potential game winning 35 yard chip shot, the entire audience could clearly see he was going to blow it. It was a storybook choke for Oklahoma State, the kicker tried to kill the ball and hooked the ball way left.

Overtime went almost as expected after that. Stanford went first and after a few runs, a false start and a short pass (which I thought was horrible playcall- 2nd and 10 you need to put the game in the hands of Luck, who went 5-5 in the final drive of the 4th quarter), Williamson missed a 43 yard field goal to the left. (To Williamson’s defense, the second snap was not the best and the holder left the laces in, which is very distracting and harder to hit for a kicker.) Oklahoma State settled for a chipshot 22 yarder for their kicker and won the Fiesta Bowl.

Unless LSU beats Alabama and ends the season with an undefeated record, there once again will be the question of whether or not there should be a playoff for Division I football. Although I think LSU is clearly the best team in college football this year, I think all four of these teams could have contended with Alabama and LSU and made a playoff very interesting.

Welcome 2012

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20120103-112549.jpgNow that everyone’s had a day or two to sleep off the New Year’s hangover, the year 2012 is in full swing, with no exception in the world of sports. The long holiday weekend had its fair share of ups and downs but for sure, never a dull moment in Boston. Friday we watched as an unlikely hero in Jermaine O’Neil led the charge for the Celtics to get back on track, getting their first win of the season at the Garden against the Detroit Pistons. Unfortunately, the Bruin’s hot streak ended at 7 games as they fell to the Dallas Stars Saturday night 4-2. On the bright side, they’re still in full control of the division, making the loss a mere speed bump in one of the best nights of the year. If New Year’s Eve isn’t your thing, New Year’s Day more than made up for it to Boston fans, as we watched both the Patriots and Celtics claim victory. After a shaky start and falling behind 21-0, the Pats rallied with 49, yes FORTY NINE unanswered points to route the Bills and ensure the road to the Superbowl goes straight through Foxboro. As if that wasn’t enough, later that evening Rondo put on a show in our nation’s capital, ending the night with a triple-double as the C’s smoked the Wizards on their home court. Last night, the battle wasn’t so easy, as the C’s returned home to take on the Wizards in back to back nights. The game was neck and neck all night, with the Celts pulling away late in the 4th quarter to seal off their third win in a row, putting them at a level .500 on the early season. Oh and the Heat lost to the Hawks last night, and it always puts a smile on my face seeing LBJ lose. Overall, not a bad start to 2012 for Boston sports fans. Let’s hope the New Year continues to bring success to Beantown and maybe some new hardware. Happy New Year!

Tradition Ruined?: Winter Classic Not on New Years Day

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This year, the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers will match up against each other in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. Along with the past Winter Classics, this one should prove to be another great game. The problem is that this year the game will be played on January 2nd.

In the last few years, the Winter Classic has become synonymous with New Years Day. They go together like spaghetti and meatball, or lamb and tuna fish if you are Rob Schneider in Big Daddy. I feel as if the Winter Classic has proven to be one of the major things that put the NHL back on the map, perhaps even vaulted it ahead of the NBA as an organization. It has become an incredible tradition for sports fans around North America to wake up on New Years Day and turn on the hockey classic. Something about being hungover makes outdoor hockey a great idea. But truly, that’s not it. The NHL has really done this one right. Play the game between two well-matched teams in an outdoor MLB or NFL stadium, and while we are at it, let’s air it on NBC before the BCS bowl games start up. Oh yeah, and the month before the game lets have HBO film 24/7, a must-see TV series showing an in-depth look at the two teams in the month leading up to the game. Everyone is tired on New Years Day and sitting down to watch a good hockey game is a perfect way to spend it.

I’m not really sure why the NHL changed the date from the prior years to the 2nd this year. NHL chief operating official John Collins had mentioned that the games “kind of landed on Jan. 1 because frankly NBC had a big window on a big day, why wouldn’t you take advantage of that?” I have a question John: Why wouldn’t you take advantage of your established fan base on New Years Day?

 

BSB Pick of the Day

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Beginning today I will be introducing a new daily pick of the day. This is going to be a pick involving the spreads, not just a win or lose situation. The sport will vary daily based on what I see as the best pick. Hopefully you gamblers out there can get something out of this.

Todays Pick of the Day:

Heat –8.5 @ Timberwolves

The Heat are averaging over 105 PPG to start this season and they have looked like the best team in the NBA so far. LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh are all starting to gel together and their supporting cast has come up big in clutch situations. To add-on to that the T-Wolves have allowed the 5th most points against in the NBA so far this year. I see 8.5 as an easy spread for the best team in the NBA to cover against one of the worst. Take the Heat.

RG3 Gets the W

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In case you missed the defensive battle last night in the Alamo Bowl, I suggest you check out the highlights because this one provided some fireworks. By defensive battle, I mean that Baylor and Washington combined for 123 points and 17 TDs (holy hell). Surprisingly, I don’t think RG3 was the story of the game, nor do I think Baylor’s running back, Terrance Ganaway, was the MVP. I’m talking about Washington sophomore quarterback, Keith Price. This guy threw for 4 TDs, rushed for another 3 and dropped 438 yards on the Baylor D. I was watching the highlights on Sportscenter last night and they totally passed him over. I mean he legitimately almost beat the #12 ranked Baylor single handed. He made virtually no mistakes, out performed the Heisman winner and broke multiple bowl records. I am an enormous fan of Sportscenter, but if they have one flaw its really focusing on superstars and not top performances. This should have been the real story of this game, even though Baylor hoisted the trophy, and he got almost no air time. I mean Price is probably 19 years old and he’s already looking like a high first round draft pick in the upcoming years. Oh, and he’s from Compton. Straight G.