Author: lou
Thursday Links
Real Madrid’s economic model looks unsustainable. Well, no shit. They don’t factor in bribing the government for hundreds of millions of dollars though. That usually doesn’t show up on the financial statements.
At least they haven’t been caught betting on their own games yet.
Anyone ever go to prison for the basketball games?
As the inaugural opponents for San Quentin’s over-40 squad, an element of the prison’s outreach program, we had received the following warnings before our first visit: stay bunched together at all times, give only first names and run only when on the court because, as hoops coordinator Stephen Irwin, told us, “Otherwise the guards will think you’re a prisoner making a break for it, and trust me, you don’t want that.”
Michael Crabtree’s contract explained in detail.
Rotoworld has a running player page for the Raiders offense.
And there are new details in the Cable-Hanson case.
Cable called the meeting to address Hanson’s dealings with the defensive backs. “The players are confused by you, Randy,” Cable allegedly told Hanson. He also reportedly told Hanson that he was being relegated to film work and would no longer be allowed to work directly with the defensive backs. “John Marshall says he has talked to you about this,” Cable told Hanson.
According to the Hanson’s statement, he turned to Marshall and said, ‘That’s a lie, John!” and Hanson insisted that Marshall had not previously mentioned anything about a communication problem with the defensive backs.
At that point, Hanson told police he was blindly body slammed by Cable into the wall behind Marshall with such force that he was thrown out of his chair and into a small table next to the wall. The table had a small lamp on it and both were overturned and broken in the scuffle.
According to Hanson’s account, the other coaches in the room began yelling, “Tom, what are you doing?” as Cable put his right hand against Hanson’s face and shoved his left cheek against the wall. Hanson told police he could feel his upper jaw being crushed into the wall.
The other coaches pulled Cable from Hanson, but an enraged Cable broke their grasp and attacked Hanson a second time, allegedly screaming, “I’m going to kill you!” over and over as he kept a hand around Hanson’s throat.
Hey there Trent Edwards!
Lastly, anyone can be cool, but awesome takes practice.
NFL Week 5 Early Leans & Stats of the Week
1. Jamarcus Russell now has 43 completions through four games. Tom Brady completed 39 passes in week 1 versus the Bills.
2. The Bears average drive versus the Lions started at the Detroit 46 yard line. The Lions averaged starting on their own 18. Said Lions coach Jim Schwarz:
We were poor on special teams. We were poor on offense. We were poor on defense. We were out-coached. We were out-played. Their trainers were probably better than ours in the second half.
3. The 49ers scored 35 points versus the Rams while only gaining 228 yards of total offense.
4. Aaron Rodgers trails only David Garrard in rushing yards for a QB this season (108-104). Rodgers’ 384 yards passing versus Minnesota was by far the highest single game total of his career. His previous high was 328 versus the Lions last year.
5. Houston’s defense entered week 4 allowing an average of 205 yards per game rushing. Oakland only gained 45 “led” by Justin Fargas with 10 carries for 24 yards and a Darius Heyward-Bey reverse for 20. 4th overall draft pick Darren McFadden had 6 carries for -3 yards.
Early Leans
Carolina – 3.5 v Washington
Giants -16 v Oakland
Teaser with Baltimore -9 v Cincinnati
2009 NFL Week 4 Picks
Bengals -4.5 @ Cleveland
Giants -8.5 @ Kansas City
Oakland/Houston Over 42
Houston is allowing over 200 yards on the ground which just so happens to be the one thing the Raiders do well. Unrelated, looking at the box score from the 49er-Vikings game last week, San Francisco failed to move the ball with any sort of consistency. 250 yards a game of total offense is not going to be good enough unless your defense is a clone of the 2000 Ravens.
West Virginia – Colorado Miracle Cover
Didn’t get this posted last night, but I took WVU -16.5 at home to Colorado last night on the basis of a couple of text messages from some gambling friends who are good at this whole college thing. The four of you who were following on Twitter know what happened:
4th Quarter – 2:00
TD West Virginia 35 – Colorado 17
Ryan Clarke 8 yd. run (Tyler Bitancurt kick)4th Quarter – 0:03
TD West Virginia 35 – Colorado 24
Markques Simas 20 yd. pass from Cody Hawkins (Aric Goodman kick)
The WVU defender on the last play actually did a 360 in the air while not making any contact with the receiver or the ball. He looked more like a figure skater than a cornerback.
Thursday Links
Some Injuries May Hurt More Than Others. No, this isn’t about a guy getting kicked in the balls.
More on Atletico Madrid, the most entertaining team the other side of the Atlantic.
The original mission the FourFourTwo bosses gave La Liga Loca was to deliver a careful, detailed and thoroughly thoughtful thesis of what Porto needed to do against Atlético Madrid to win Wednesday’s Champions League clash.
The initial two-word response – “Turn up” – was deemed somewhat lacking in depth by the prissy, picky editors.
Fascinating profile on my new favorite head coach.
How to build a blog audience quickly.
Jimmy Fallon’s first highlight. It’s legitimately worth watching, I promise.
Making fun of books written in the 70s is fun.
Advice to aspiring professional athletes: Never, EVER bring your girlfriend to a press conference.
Thinking of going to Delaware to gamble on NFL? Read this.
Delaware Park is just what I thought it would be, only worse. I expected the joyless casino floors, filled with lonely senior citizens dropping quarters into slot machines. I expected overpriced drinks and a measure of surliness from the staff. But I also expected a damn buffalo wing, or a horse race, or a waitress with a fighting chance of serving her clientèle. Football gambling is new to Delaware, but the whole casino seemed caught off guard, as if no one expected thirsty football fans on a Sunday afternoon. The whole affair was inconvenient, mismanaged, planned on a whim and financed on a dime. In short, it was uniquely Delaware.
Lastly, the headline of the week.
Now on Twitter: Miraclecovers
2009 NFL Week 4 Early Leans
1-2 last week, would have been 2-2 or better had I listened to myself and those around me on New England and Detroit. That, friends is progress. First some news & notes around the league:
In the good coaching column:
Jim Schwartz – Detroit Lions
We’ve got to get to the point where a Week 3 win isn’t celebrated like a playoff win. We’re a 1-2 football team. Nothing more. We need to get this win behind us and get ready to play a great game every week. We need to expect to win every week, not just hope to win. Hope is not a good strategy.
Mike Tomlin – Pittsburgh Steelers
“I don’t have a doghouse,” Tomlin said. “A doghouse is something you have when you let things stew and don’t take action. He lacked a little detail in preparation last week … Young guys have to earn their opportunities. They have to make coaches confident with their ability to execute details of their assignments. He didn’t do that to my satisfaction last week and didn’t get any playing time on offense as a result. I took action, but I don’t take any baggage into this week.”
The indifferent:
Jeff Fisher – Tennessee Titans
http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/8876/how-i-see-it-afc-south-stock-watch-3
Fisher’s steady demeanor serves the Titans well and he’s probably as well equipped to hold an 0-3 team together as anyone. But he’s a big piece of why the team is there.
A hands-on special teams coach who was a punt returner himself, his plan for the return games after the Titans lost Chris Carr in free agency have proved completely insufficient. Kick returns are down from first to 29th, punt returns from 14th to 26th.
And the bad…
Jim Mora – Seattle Seahawks
Easterbrook makes a great point. When you’re throwing your kicker under the bus in week 3, chances are you’re not having a good season.
Chicago leading 25-19, Seattle reached third-and 2 on the Bears’ 29 with 33 seconds remaining, out of timeouts. The Green Men Group threw super short on third down and then super short on fourth down, both incomplete, game over. Both calls were super-short routes intended to pick up a first down. But look at the scoreboard clock. What about the end zone? To top it off, a busted defensive assignment on the third-and-2 left tailback Julius Jones split wide covered only by linebacker Lance Briggs, no safety in sight — a perfect opportunity for a go route by Jones. But Seattle quarterback Seneca Wallace never even look Jones’ way; and maybe Briggs was out on Jones because Chicago correctly guessed a super-short attempt was coming and crowded the middle. After coaches called ultraconservative passes when a deep strike was needed, coach Mora the Younger had the temerity to blame the loss on kicker Olindo Mare, who missed two field goal attempts, while hitting four. Since NFL place-kickers average about 85 percent success, Mare would have been expected to make five of six, which still would have left the Seahawks trailing when the double-whistle sounded.
Eric Mangini – Cleveland Browns
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFL-notebook-Bills-offense-needs-TO.html
Benching a quarterback — like Mangini did Sunday with Brady Quinn — sends a message to the entire team that Quinn isn’t the right option. He has shown that he can’t put points on the scoreboard in this offense, and his failure to generate big plays down the field in the passing game were enough for Mangini to give him the hook.
But as a coach, the locker room expects you to stick with your decision because once you start playing musical chairs with the quarterbacks, the season is gone from the players’ perspective. Mangini must show this team that the decision he made was done for the right reasons, and by giving Quinn the rest of the day off on Sunday, he was telling his players that a lack of production will send you to the bench. Even though Derek Anderson wasn’t productive when he came into the ballgame, Mangini has to show confidence in him by providing an entire week of practice with the first unit and allow this team to rally around him — because you just can’t go back to Quinn after sitting him down.
Over/Under 16 games as head coach for Mangini???
Lastly, I want to focus on this:
Yesterday in the NFL, there was a clear gap between teams — the Bucs, Rams, Chiefs and Browns have no chance to win at all — and what’s disconcerting is that those teams are a long way from being competitive. Is the NFL becoming like baseball? To me, there are 10 good teams, 10 average teams, eight bad teams and four teams with no chance.
For the record, Carolina’s been as bad as the four teams listed so far this season as well. I’ve been doing a lot of betting on the teams listed above on the idea that the talent difference between two pro teams is usually not vast enough to justify double digit spreads, especially for a home team. Clearly, that’s not the case and it’s time to start treating these more like college games.
Early Leans:
Baltimore @ New England -2
New York Giants -9 @ Kansas City
Cincinnati -4.5 @ Cleveland
San Diego +6 @ Pittsburgh
Already bet Cincinnati as their line has already moved all the way to 5.5 or 6.
2009 NFL Week 3 Picks
One of the next items to add to this site is author record. My roommate just asked me if I had any NFL picks so he could take the other side. Yes, it’s been that bad the last few weeks. At least my Aussie Rules bet covered yesterday. Taking all home underdogs this week, a couple of whom are not getting much love from the betting public.
Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati +4
This line originally opened at +6 and quickly got bet down to +4 where it’s been all week. This should be a slugfest as Cincy’s defense has been excellent this season and neither team will be able to run the ball with any effectiveness. Happy to take the points here.
NY Giants @ Tampa +6
Only 20% of the money is on Tampa today at home to a somewhat beat up Giants team. OUT DT Chris Canty (calf), WR Hakeem Nicks (foot), S Kenny Phillips (knee), CB Aaron Ross (hamstring), LB Clint Sintim (groin), RB Danny Ware (elbow)
QUESTIONABLE CB Kevin Dockery (hamstring), WR Domenik Hixon (knee), C Adam Koets (ankle), DE Justin Tuck (shoulder)
Chicago @ Seattle +125
Taking the moneyline here as we like Seattle to win outright. Just like with Tampa, only 20% of the money is on the home side.
2009 Aussie Rules Grand Final Live Blog
Just back from a night of drinking and gambling, just in time for our first ever live blog. Saints! Cats! Feel the excitement. Live on ESPN Classic from The Castle. Lou & Sean here to guide you through this historic event.
AFL Rules wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football
http://www.superfooty.com.au
00:21 “Who decides who does the opening bounce from the umpires?” I have no idea what this means. The St. Kilda Saints are 9.5 point underdogs versus the Geelong Cats (pronounced Guh-LONG). I have 5 dollars on Guhlong.
00:23 Prior to signing on here, there was a man with the trophy being dropped into the stadium on wire cables, several incomprehensible songs by little kids and a flyover by a Quantas jumbo jet that seemed to have problems turning.
00:25 We’re also getting the best of bad commercials here on post-midnight ESPN Classic. We just had all three Mannings pimping Lifelock with Archie Manning creepily hovering over Peyton & Eli.
00:28 The St. Kilda Saints team song is predictably, “When the Saints go Marching In.” They also apparently beat Geelong in their previous meeting this season, whatever that’s worth. We’re fairly confused here as to whether 9.5 points is a big spread or not. Also these guys play 60 minute halves which makes our sports seems pussy & leisurely by comparison.
00:32 They are predicting hailstorms as well for this game. Again the theme: America = pussy
00:34 We’re underway. The announcers are using the word footy liberally. Apparently they start with something that resembles dropping the puck except they bounce the ball as high as possible and both teams immediately fight over it.
00:35 We’ve seen about 5 personal fouls already in the first 3 minutes. 6-0 Cats.
00:37 When the ball (shaped like a football) goes out of bounds on the sides of the oval, the referee throws it backwards over his head back into play. To move the ball forward, the players can either punch or punt or bounce it and can run around somewhat, but we’re not exactly sure how far. The referees apparently blow whistles a lot for no apparent reason. They do have loose ball fouls as Sean just noted.
00:40 Last year when the Cats won some player had 30 disposals. I wonder if that includes the clothesline someone just dished out.
00:41 Punting the ball through the field goal posts = six points. Geelong up 12-0 now.
00:43 Saints miss a sitter for a behind. That’s missing wide for 1 point instead of 6.
00:44 Lenny Hayes 4 disposals so far.
00:47 Saints are basically punting the ball around to themselves now, but they’ve got a chance to score 6 now…It’s good 12-7
00:49 I have to say the field looks like a circle and not an oval.
00:51 St. Kilda not giving Geelong an easy disposal. That doesn’t stop a Geelong player from running over two opponents and kicking through for an 18-7 lead. It’s started raining and we’re looking forward to this game getting dirtier and sloppier. Can hail be used as a weapon?
00:53 Punching an opponent in the face is not allowed. 18-13. These teams have coordinators in the booth just like our football teams do.
00:59 Saints miss another chance 18-14.
1:01 Saints hit a 6 pointer at the buzzer to make it 20-18.
1:02 Sean steps in for the 2nd quarter of this epic matchup of the whitest athletes this side of curling.
1:03 I guess there’s embellishment in Australian Rules Football as well. On a player trying to get a free kick feigning a blow to the back, “His acting is not as good as his play”.
1:03 Every time the announcer says the word, “footy”, I giggle.
1:04 “He’s sniffing around the packs.” Sounds like Vlade Divac trying to bum cigarettes in between flights.
1:05 How in the fuck do these guys play 120 hours of this shit? Oh wait, that’s right, alcohol. http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/189_09_031108/die11464_fm.html
1:08 People are setting up tents outside the stadium. They are probably the only people drunker than the players on the field.
1:10 Yep, just saw a guy double fisting.
1:12 They call turnovers in this sport, “disposals”. I guess that makes Jake Delhomme a disposal machine?
1:13 Saints captain, “We don’t want to be second-best, we want to be first-best.” I guess he’s read the Herm Edwards terms of success encyclopedia.
1:13 A quick Saints 6 pointer and a single make it 27-18.
1:14 Nice deflection by the Saints to make it 1 points instead of 6 on a Geelong try. 27-19.
1:15 Is there any better thing than hearing an Australian person saying the word, “lumber”?
1:16 Missed opportunity on a “scrubber” try by the Saints.
1:18 I think Rhys Darby, the manager from from “Flight of the Conchords” is the play-by-play guy for this game.
1:20 Saints are moving the ball, but no 6 pointers, they are settling for single point kicks. Sounds like watching Oakland Raiders football. Up 29-19.
1:22 Geelong sets up a nice try for a 6 point goal, cutting the Saints lead to 29-25.
1:23 I love how there is a HD ad in the middle of the field. Soon enough, you will see this in football. Right below Tony Gonzalez you’ll see the graphic, “it’s 3rd and 10 from the Bud Light 50 yard line.”
1:24 I wish NBA referees would throw jump balls like the Aussie Rules refs do. Just throw it behind your back and let it rip.
1:27 30-25, Saints. Should be 40-25. I bet the over/under in this game was set at 10,557.
1:28 Number 33 for Geelong is a beast. And he can kick. I think the Vikings finally found themselves a punter.
1:29 After a the 50th penalty of the game that sets up a Cats’ try, Cats retake the lead, 31-30.
1:30 Tied at 31. I am officially bored and both Louis and Allen are asleep.
1:31 It is pouring there. Maybe the O/U is now at 10,556.
1:32 Saints commit a turnover in their own end, resulting in a Cats’ 6 point try, and throw an equivalent of a pick-6. In America, we call that, “pulling a Kevin Kolb.” Darts, “That willlllllll happen.” 37-31.
1:34 Long range Cats’ kick makes it 43-31. BTW, if a kick hits the post, it’s just one point, not 6.
1:35 Pat Darts’ drunken Aussie accent sounds like South Park’s Mr.Garrison combined with Mr.Bean.
1:37 On the ticker, Roy Jones Jr. is going to fight Bernard Hopkins in 2010 for the WBA Heavyweight Over-The-Hill, Over-hyped, and Overpaid Boxing Championship of the World.
1:38 Saints get a 6 pointer, 43-37.
1:40 I love how Ford is sponsoring the Cats on their jersey. Nice to see my tax dollars hard at work.
1:42 49-43 at the half, Saints.
Louis is going to bed.
NEXT DAY EDIT: This post should be an everlasting reminder American = Pussy. At least we made it to half. Geelong won and covered 80-68.
Thursday Links
“We only get one chance at this, with no do-overs. Life is, in effect, a non-repeatable experiment with no control.” – Tim Kreider
The NFL has become so fast and efficient that last season, teams each scored 22.03 points per game, the highest since 1967, while all the league’s 32 teams combined for 11,279 points—the most in NFL history.
The game has become less cluttered. Offenses averaged just 3.09 turnovers (interceptions and fumbles) per game, the lowest of all time by more than 10%, and offensive lines allowed just 4.04 sacks per game—also the lowest ever. Even place kickers set a new mark: They made a record-high 84.5% of their field-goal attempts.
Some football thinkers believe these numbers speak to a temporary period of offensive dominance in the NFL—just one more high point in an endlessly fluctuating historical curve. But if you venture a bit beyond the particulars of football, to the principles of science, there’s another argument to be made: that the NFL’s high-speed, high-scoring offenses are a reflection of one of the laws of nature—the tendency of all things to evolve toward efficiency.
From this week’s TMQ: “Stats of the Week No. 7: Cleveland has one offensive touchdown in its past eight games.” I wonder if the Cleveland announcers will be like Oakland’s last year? Touchdown Raiders Offense!
Gus Johnson again had the best game of the day in week two. Last year I changed my fantasy team name to “Going with Gus” for a week, but it was because I was starting this guy. I could be convinced to put the stopwatch away. Gus & Steve Tasker have Cleveland (+13) at Baltimore this week. Just saying…
49ers fans are wondering about Mike’s stopwatch too.
Nice to see Tom Brady back on the Patriots injury report.
If this is a sport, how can we set lines and bet on it?
Note to all coaches: If your team is underperforming, paying off disgruntled fans is always an option.
Lastly, this is the coolest bookstore ever.
2009 NFL Week 3 Early Leans
So I’m 2 for 2 in losing weeks to open the season, not unlike last year. Maybe I should just start my NFL season in October. This week’s lines are terrible. I don’t like anything other than New Orleans when they opened at -4 in Buffalo and New England, who actually is -4 at home to Atlanta. The Pats moved the ball up and down the field on Buffalo, and I think they’ll do the same against the Falcons. The New Orleans line is up to 6 so that’s a pass too, at least right now. Should have bet it early.
Links coming tomorrow per usual as is some more analysis as I try to figure out how to lose more money this week.
EDIT: Also now thinking about betting on Detroit to win at home to Washington. They’re getting 6 and +230 to win outright.
