Top Tens - 9/27/11

Men's Tennis Rankings

1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - 14720 points
2. Rafael Nadal (Spain) - 10620 points
3. Roger Federer (Switzerland) - 8380 points
4. Andy Murray (Great Britain) - 7165 points
5. David Ferrer (Spain) - 4200 points
6. Robin Soderling (Sweden) - 3770 points
7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) - 2870 points
8. Mardy Fish (USA) - 2820 points
9. Gael Monfils (France) - 2780 points
10. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) - 2775 points

OUT: Nicolas Almagro (11)



Women's Tennis Rankings

1. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) - 9335 points
2. Maria Sharapova (Russia) - 6226 points
3. Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) - 6055 points
4. Vera Zvonareva (Russia) - 5920 point
5. Li Na (China) - 5870 points
6. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) - 5530 points
7. Samantha Stosur (Australia) - 5380 points
8. Francesca Schiavone (Italy) - 4775 points
9. Kim Clijsters (Belgium) - 4501 points
10. Marion Bartoli (France) - 4225 points



2011 FedEx Cup Points Final Standings

1. Bill Haas 2760
2. Webb Simpson 2745
3. Luke Donald 2567
4. Dustin Johnson 2488
5. Justin Rose 2253
6. Matt Kuchar 1853
7. Hunter Mahan 1800
8. Brandt Snedeker 1668
9. Nick Watney 1420
10. Chez Reavie 1220



AL Leading Hitters (through Monday)

1. Miguel Cabrera DET - .343 (193/563)
2. Michael Young TEX - .338 (210/622)
3. Adrian Gonzalez BOS - .338 (211/625)
4. Victor Martinez DET - .323 (173/534)
5. Jacoby Ellsbury BOS - .323 (210/650)
6. David Ortiz BOS - .308 (159/517)
7. Melky Cabrera KC - .305 (201/658)
8. Robinson Cano NYY - .305 (188/616)
9. Casey Kotchman TB - .305 (151/495)
10. Dustin Pedroia BOS - .303 (190/627)



NL Leading Hitters (through Monday)

1. Jose Reyes NYM - .334 (177/530)
2. Ryan Braun MIL - .334 (186/557)
3. Matt Kemp LAD - .324 (192/593)
4. Hunter Pence PHI - .312 (187/599)
5. Joey Votto CIN - .312 (184/590)
6. Starlin Castro CHC - .306 (204/666)
7. Yadier Molina STL - .306 (143/467)
8. Aramis Ramirez CHC - .306 (171/559)
9. Michael Morse WAS - .303 (157/518)
10. Troy Tulowitzki COL - .302 (162/537)



AL Home Run Leaders (through Monday)

1. Jose Bautista TOR - 43
2. Curtis Granderson NYY - 41
3. Mark Teixeira NYY - 37
3. Mark Reynolds BAL - 37
5. Paul Konerko CHW - 31
5. Adrian Beltre TEX - 31
5. Ian Kinsler TEX - 31
5. Jacoby Ellsbury BOS - 31
9. 5 tied with 29



NL Home Run Leaders (through Monday)

1. Matt Kemp LAD - 38
2. Albert Pujols STL - 37
3. Prince Fielder MIL - 35
3. Dan Uggla ATL - 35
5. Mike Stanton FLA - 34
6. Ryan Howard PHI - 33
6. Ryan Braun MIL - 33
8. Lance Berkman STL - 31
8. Justin Upton ARI - 31
8. Jay Bruce CIN - 31



AL ERA Leaders (through Monday)

1. Justin Verlander DET - 2.40 (24-5)
2. Jered Weaver LAA - 2.41 (18-8)
3. James Shields TB - 2.82 (16-12)
4. Doug Fister DET - 2.83 (11-13)
5. Josh Beckett BOS - 2.89 (13-7)
6. Jeremy Hellickson TB - 2.90 (13-10)
7. Ricky Romero TOR - 2.92 (15-11)
8. C.J. Wilson TEX - 2.94 (16-7)
9. CC Sabathia NYY - 3.00 (19-8)
10. Dan Haren LAA - 3.17 (16-10)



NL ERA Leaders (through Monday)

1. Clayton Kershaw LAD - 2.28 (21-5)
2. Roy Halladay PHI - 2.35 (19-6)
3. Cliff Lee PHI - 2.40 (17-8)
4. Ryan Vogelsong SF - 2.71 (13-7)
5. Tim Lincecum SF - 2.74 (13-14)
6. Cole Hamels PHI - 2.75 (14-9)
7. Ian Kennedy ARI - 2.88 (21-4)
8. Matt Cain SF - 2.88 (12-11)
9. Hiroki Kuroda LAD - 3.17 (13-16)
10. Jordan Zimmerman WAS - 3.18 (8-11)



COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS - AP Top 25
*USA Today Poll Ranking in Parentheses

1. LSU 4-0 (3) - W 47-21 @ #16 West Virginia
2. Oklahoma 3-0 (1) - W 38-28 vs Missouri
3. Alabama 4-0 (2) - W 38-14 vs #14 Arkansas
4. Boise State 3-0 (5) - W 41-21 vs Tulsa
5. Oklahoma State 4-0 (6) - W 30-29 @ #8 Texas A&M
6. Stanford 3-0 (4) -BYE
7. Wisconsin 4-0 (7) - W 59-10 vs South Dakota
8. Nebraska 4-0 (8) - W 38-14 @ Wyoming
9. Oregon 3-1 (11) - W 56-31 @ Arizona
10. South Carolina (9) - W 21-3 vs Vanderbilt



ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE LEADING SCORERS

1. Wayne Rooney (England) - Manchester United - 9
2. Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 8
3. Edin Dzeko (Bosnia-Herzegovina) - Manchester City - 6
4. Ivan Klasnic (Croatia) - Bolton Wanderers - 3
4. Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo) - Tottenham Hotspur - 3
4. Robin Van Persie (Netherlands) - Arsenal - 3
4. Leon Best (Ireland) - Newcastle United - 3
4. Nani (Portugal) - Manchester United - 3
4. Gabriel Agbonlahor (England) - Aston Villa -3
4. Demba Ba (Senegal) - Newcastle United - 3
4. Franco Di Santo (Argentina) - Wigan Athletic -3
4. Luis Suárez (Uruguay) - Liverpool - 3



NFL LEADING PASSERS

1. Tom Brady - New England Patriots - 1327 yards
2. Drew Brees - New Orleans Saints - 1059 yards
3. Cam Newton - Carolina Panthers - 1012 yards
4. Philip Rivers - San Diego Chargers - 979 yards
5. Matthew Stafford - Detroit Lions - 977 yards
6. Tony Romo - Dallas Cowboys - 942 yards
6. Ben Roethlisberger - Pittsburgh Steelers - 942 yards
8. Matt Hasselbeck - Tennessee Titans - 932 yards
9. Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers - 917 yards
10. Mark Sanchez - New York Jets - 886 yards



NFL LEADING RUSHERS

1. Darren McFadden - Oakland Raiders - 393 yards
2. LeSean McCoy - Philadelphia Eagles - 345 yards
3. Maurice Jones-Drew - Jacksonville Jaguars - 307 yards
4. Fred Jackson - Buffalo Bills - 303 yards
5. Ben Tate - Houston Texans - 301 yards
6. Adrian Peterson - Minnesota Vikings - 296 yards
7. Cedric Benson - Cincinnati Bengals - 244 yards
8. Michael Turner - Atlanta Falcons - 234 yards
9. Ray Rice - Baltimore Ravens - 231 yards
10. Tim Hightower - Washington Redskins - 209 yards



NFL Receiving Leaders

1. Wes Welker - New England Patriots - 458 yards
2. Mike Wallace - Pittsburgh Steelers - 377 yards
3. Steve Smith - Carolina Panthers - 349 yards
4. Andre Johnson - Houston Texans - 316 yards
5. Kenny Britt - Tennessee Titans - 289 yards
6. Matt Forte - Chicago Bears - 287 yards
7. Rob Gronkowski - New England Patriots - 281 yards
8. Jason Witten - Dallas Cowboys - 272 yards
9. Vincent Jackson - San Diego Chargers - 266 yards
10. Devery Henderson - New Orleans Saints - 265 yards




Photo Credits (in order of appearance):

tennisnow.com
bbs.chinadaily.com.cn
pgatour.com
zimbio.com
zimbio,com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
sports.hsn.com
zimbio.com
graphicshunt.com
zimbio.com 
everyjoe.com


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Fantasy Football Week 3 in Review

It's amazing how fast things can change on you in fantasy football. My boys got stomped this week by about 40 points thanks to Reggie Bush, the Jets defense and Philip Rivers combining for 1 point. One. Uno. It didn't help me that Antonio Gates, Lee Evans and Danny Amendola all didn't play. It also didn't help that my opponent got 41 fantasy points from Wes Welker. That totally negated the 41 points I got from my late additions Nate Washington and Victor Cruz. Oh well, can't win 'em all...

So, Corn on the Kolb falls to 2-1 on the season, but we're still sitting in second place. Anyhow, let's take a look at who the top performers were at each position in Week 3:

QB - Eli Manning, despite missing receivers Domenik Hixon and Mario Manningham had a huge day in the Giants big win over the Eagles. Manning threw for 254 yards and 4 touchdown passes, two to Victor Cruz and one each to Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw in the Giants 29-16 win. Fantasy Points: 29

Photo Credit: online.wsj.com

WR - Stupid Wes Welker. I don't remember him having any days like this when I had him on MY fantasy team. Welker caught 16 passes from Tom Brady for 217 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but his efforts were for naught as the Pats blew a 21-0 lead and lost to Buffalo on a last second field goal. Fantasy Points: 41

Photo Credit: boston.com

RB - Darren McFadden had a monster day against the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets who pride themselves on their ability to stop the run. McFadden ended up with 171 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns as the Raiders upset Rex Ryan and Gang Green. Fantasy Points: 26

Photo Credit: nypost.com

TE - Jermichael Finley outscored the Bears by himself on Sunday as he hauled in 3 touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers in the Packers 27-17 win as Green Bay improved to 3-0 on the season. Fantasy Points: 29

Photo Credit: packers365.com

K - Rookie Dan Bailey was the Monday night hero scoring all of Dallas's points as he kicked 6 field goals and Dallas defeated Washington 18-16. Fantasy Points: 22

Photo Credit: sports.sbc.yahoo.com

DEF - It's been a rough season for the Rams, and Baltimore didn't do anything to make it easier on them. Ray Lewis and the Ravens defense sacked Sam Bradford 5 times and forced a pair of turnovers in Baltimore's 37-7 win. Fantasy Points: 19

Photo Credit: phillyburbs.com

IDP - Pat Angerer started at middle linebacker for the Colts on Sunday night in place of the injured Gary Brackett and wound up making 21 tackles (12 solo). Fantasy Points: 16.5

Photo Credit: lockerpulse.com

YEAR-TO-DATE LEADERS

QB - Tom Brady - New England - 90 points
WR - Wes Welker - New England - 83 points
RB - LeSean McCoy - Philadelphia - 62 points
TE - Rob Gronkowski - New England - 64 points
K - Jason Hanson - Detroit - 40.5 points
DEF - Baltimore - 43 points
IDP - Sean Lee - Dallas - 38 points

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So Many Things to Talk About - Part 2 - Baseball Wild Card Races

The Astros are relevant again! True, it's not due to any fault of their own, but because the Cardinals were a game out of the Wild Card entering play last night, suddenly all eyes are on Houston and their 104 losses. But we'll get to them in a minute. We had 4 HUGE games last night with both the American and National League Wild Card races sporting one game leads entering play.

GAME 1 - RED SOX vs ORIOLES

Like the Astros, the Orioles are in last place in their division and came into play last night with a record of 67-92. The O's have nothing to play for right now, but have successfully been a major thorn in the Sox side down the stretch. Heck, in EVERYONE'S side. Over the past 2 weeks, Baltimore took 2 of 3 from Tampa, 2 of 3 from the Angels, 3 of 4 from the Sox at Fenway, and 2 of 4 from the Tigers including beating Justin Verlander in his quest for Win #25. So against 4 of the AL's top teams over a two week stretch, the Orioles emerged 9-5. Not bad for the team with the third worst record in the American League. Anyhow, last night they faced Josh Beckett and despite falling behind 1-0 and 2-1, the O's battled back. Matt Wieters solo home run in the 2nd tied the game at 1 and Chris Davis's rbi single in the 5th tied the game at two. Then came the 6th inning. With 2 outs Chris Davis doubled home Vladimir Guerrero to make it 3-2 and then Red Sox killer Robert Andino - the same guy who hit a bases loaded double off of Jonathan Papelbon at Fenway just last week - hit one to the wall in center that Jacoby Ellsbury had in his glove, but couldn't hang onto as he slammed into the wall. The result? A three-run, inside-the-park home run. 6-2 Orioles. Andino has 35 runs batted in this season. 9 of them have come against Boston Red Sox pitching.

Photo Credit: thestar.com/sports

Boston would not recover, but not for lack of chances. Boston loaded the bases with one out in the 8th, but Pedro Strop fanned Jarrod Saltalamacchia and got Marco Scutaro to hit a ground ball to short to end the threat. Then in the 9th Orioles closer Jim Johnson gave up an rbi single to Dustin Pedroia and then had runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out and Adrian Gonzalez at the plate, but Gonzalez flew out to left for the second out, and then Johnson fanned Jed Lowrie to end the game. Orioles 6, Red Sox 3. And the lead down to half a game. Beckett goes 6 innings in the loss allowing 6 runs on 7 hits while walking 4 and fanning 5. Not the big game start we've gotten used to seeing from Beckett over the years. Could Tampa tie things up?

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

GAME 2 - YANKEES vs RAYS

Speaking of big game starts, Big Game James Shields took the hill for the Rays last night, and despite falling behind 2-0 early, he battled all night and came within an out of notching his 12th complete game of the season in leading the Rays to a 5-2 win over the Yankees. Shields was coming off of back to back road losses in Boston and in New York, but came up big when the Rays needed him most.

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

B.J. Upton delivered a two run double in the third to tie the game up and Johnny Damon tied Lou Gehrig with his 2721st career hit when he singled home Upton and the Rays would never trail again. Kelly Shoppach padded the lead with his 11th home run of the season, and Damon drove home Upton again with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2 Rays, and now we're all tied up in the AL.

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

The Rays are in much better shape than Boston right now, and not just because they've been playing better baseball. With two games remaining, the Rays will be throwing Jeremy Hellickso,n who is 2-0 with a 2.28 ERA in September, and David Price who hasn't won but has a 3.03 ERA this month. Boston, on the other hand, starts Erik Bedard tonight - in Bedard's only last start in the last 3 weeks he lasted just 2 2/3 innings against the Orioles - and most likely Jon Lester on short rest - Lester has lost 3 straight starts allowing 16 runs in 13 2/3 innings during that stretch. And God help Boston if they need a one game playoff. Then they're looking at Tim Wakefield or John Lackey throwing in the biggest game of the season. Tampa? They can start a rested Matt Moore who fanned 11 Yankees in 5 innings in his first big league start last week.


GAME 3 - PHILLIES vs BRAVES

The Braves didn't catch the same breaks that the Rays did when taking on their division leader last night. While Tampa got to face Hector Noesi as the Yankees set their rotation for the postseason, the Braves had to deal with Cliff Lee. Still, Chipper Jones homered in the first, number 454 of his career, the Braves added another run in the second and rookie Randall Delgado cruised through the first three innings. But the Phils starting pecking away as Placido Polanco singled home a run in the 4th, Jimmy Rollins tied the game with a homer in the 5th and then Raul Ibanez singled home the go-ahead run off of Cristhian Martinez  inthet 6th to put the Phillies in the lead. Joe Savery, Michael Stutes, Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson did the rest tossing 3 scoreless innings in relief of Cliff Lee and Ibanez added another run scoring single as the Phillies dropped Atlanta 4-2 to cut the NL Wild Card lead to half a game.

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

We've talked a lot about how disastrous this month has been for Boston, but we haven't really hit on what a mess it's been for Atlanta. This month the Braves have endured a 3 game sweep in Philadelphia, a 3 game sweep in St. Louis, and consecutive series losses at home against the Mets, on the road against the Marlins, and on the road against the Nationals. Not good. And now we're looking at what was a massive lead over St. Louis being cut down to just half a game! Setting the stage for... Drumroll, please...


GAME 4 - CARDINALS vs ASTROS

The Houston Astros! Winners of all of 55 games entering play last night, and enduring their worst season in franchise history, Houston hosted the red hot Cardinals with a chance to salvage some dignity by wrecking St. Louis's bid to sneak into the postseason. Matt Holliday gave the Redbirds and early lead with an rbi single in the 3rd, but J.D. Martinez cut down Albert Pujols at home on the play, and the Cards were forced to settle for just the 1 run. The lead would be short-lived though as Wandy Rodriguez sacrificed home Clint Barmes in the bottom half of the third (bunts would be an important theme for the Astros last night) and Jason Bourgeois, batting .480 against St. Louis this year, doubled home J.R. Towles to give Houston the lead. An inning later Matt Downs crushed a Jaime Garcia fastball into the Crawford boxes in left to make it a 4-1 Astros lead. But when you're a team that loses 104 games, no lead is EVER safe. The Cards loaded the bases with nobody out in the 5th, but were forced to settle for just one run scored on a double play ball cutting the lead to 4-2. It stayed that way until the 8th, when ex-Astro Lance Berkman doubled off the left field wall on a 0-2 pitch from Wesley Wright tying the game. St. Louis would get runners on second and third with just one out in the inning, but Enerio Del Rosario was able to pitch out of the jam without any further damage. And that set the stage for the bottom of the 10th. Pinch hitter Brian Bogusevic led off the inning with a double. Jason Bourgeois laid down a bunt (there's that theme again) that another ex-Astro Octavio Dotel was unable to handle putting runners at the corners with nobody out. Enter Angel Sanchez. And what does Houston do? They drop down ANOTHER bunt. And once again Dotel was unable to make a play. Everybody's safe, Bogusevic scores, and the Astros win! And the state of Georgia breathes a collective sigh of relief. Their lead stays at one game for at least one more day.

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

TODAY

So with two games remaining we have a tie in the AL Wild Card Race, and the Braves are still clinging to a 1 game lead in the National League. Here's a look at today's pitching match-ups:

BOS - (Erik Bedard 5-9, 3.50 ERA) vs BAL (Zach Britton (11-10, 4.44 ERA)
NYY - (Bartolo Colon 8-10, 4.02 ERA) vs TB (Jeremy Hellickson 13-10, 2.90 ERA)
PHI -  (Roy Oswalt 8-10, 3.86 ERA) vs ATL (Derek Lowe 9-16, 4.92 ERA)
STL - (Jake Westbrook 12-9, 4.48 ERA) vs HOU (Henry Sosa 3-5, 4.68 ERA)

So Many Things to Talk About - Part 1 - The NFL

Just a crazy NFL Sunday yesterday, the baseball wild card races are on fire, all kinds of crazy stuff going on with soccer in Europe, a new #1 in college football... Lots to talk about. So let's get after it.

NFL WEEK 3

1) Bills 34 Patriots 31 - Wait, what? It gets better. New England led this game 21-0 with 6 minutes left in the second quarter. So Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bills outscored Tom Brady and the Patriots 34-10 in a little over one half of football to beat New England for the first time in like 8 years. How does that happen? Well, for one, Tom Brady threw 4 interceptions. Tom Brady threw 4 interceptions all of last season, but in one game this year he equaled that. Second, the Patriots gave up a ridiculous amount of yards. AGAIN. In three games this year, New England has allowed Chad Henne (416 yards), Philip Rivers (378 yards) and now Ryan Fitzpatrick (369 yards) to throw the ball all over the field. Yeah, for the most part the Pats defense bends but doesn't break, but yesterday it BROKE. New England wastes a 16 reception 217 yard and 2 TD day from Wes Welker and another 100+ yard day for tight end Rob Gronkowski who also scored twice. Meanwhile Tom Brady threw for another 387 yards giving him a ho-hum 1327 yards through 3 weeks. Speaking of which...

Photo Credit: topics.gannett.com

2) Dan Marino's Record - In 1984, Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino - at the age of 23 - threw for 5084 yards, a record that has stood for almost 30 years now. Only one other quarterback has eclipsed 5000 yards in a single season, and that was Drew Brees for the Saints in 2008 (he ended up with 5069). Tom Brady threw for 4806 yards in 2007, the Pats' undefeated season, good for 4th most all time. Right now, Tom Brady is one pace to throw for 7077 yards. Good Lord. To break Marino's record, Brady only has to average 289 yards per week over the final 13 games. But back to the Bills...

Photo Credit: gmagrading.com

3) Is Buffalo For Real? - The Bills destroyed Kansas City in Week 1. But that was easy to dismiss as the Chiefs look terrible right now. I watched Buffalo play the Raiders in Week 2 and pull out a late win in a shootout and convinced myself that it was a fluke. Now they've beaten the Patriots, picked off Tom Brady 4 times, came from 21 points down... And I'm STILL not sold on these guys. I dunno. Maybe they've just been so bad for so long, that I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that the Bills might actually be good again. Maybe I'm forever tainted by the fact that my beloved Oilers blew a 35-3 lead in a playoff game against Jim Kelly's backup (no the Music City Miracle didn't fix that, but let's watch that again!).

But the fact is, they're 3-0, Ryan Fitzpatrick has passed for 841 yards and 9 touchdowns through the first 3 weeks, Fred Jackson has 303 yards on the ground at 6.4 yards a carry... I dunno. Give me a couple more weeks to process this information. But for right now, there's no disputing the fact that the Buffalo Bills are in first place in the AFC East.

4) 49ers 13 Bengals 8 - This game was 3-0 at halftime, and the game's only touchdown was scored in the 4th quarter by 49er rookie running back Kendall Hunter. Bengal rookie quarterback Andy Dalton had a rough go of it throwing for just 157 yards and a pair of interceptions, and the Bengals converted just 1 out of 10 3rd downs. The crazy part about this result is now the 49ers are 2-1, and if not for an insane Tony Romo comeback last week, San Francisco could be 3-0. 49er quarterback Alex Smith, while unspectacular, has been picked off just once so far this season.

Photo Credit: bostonherald.com

5) Browns 17 Dolphins 16 - Add the Browns to the list of things I don't understand about this year's NFL season. They lose to Bengal backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski in the opener, had a tough time with Kerry Collins and the struggling Colts in their win in Week 2, and now with Peyton Hillis sidelined with strep throat in Week 3, they find a way to beat the Miami Dolphins. Colt McCoy completed less than 50% of his passes, but threw touchdown passes to Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi, the latter coming with 43 seconds left in the game to drop the Dolphins to 0-3. Miami's not completely without bright spots though as rookie running back Daniel Thomas has gone for 202 yards on the ground the past two weeks and he's been outplaying Reggie Bush in the Dolphins backfield.

6) Titans 17 Broncos 14 - Tennessee suffered a devastating blow in the first half when their big play receiver Kenny Britt tore his MCL and his ACL and now the Titans will be without him for the entire season. Still, despite the loss of Britt and yet another subpar rushing game from Chris Johnson, Matt Hasselbeck and the Titans were able to find a way to get a win. Eleven different Titans caught passes and the Titans defense came up with a goal line stand to keep Denver's lead at four, and an interception on the final drive to clinch the victory. Speaking of Chris Johnson...

Photo Credit: tennessean.com

7) The Titans Paid $50M for this? - Chris Johnson has not rushed for 100 yards in a game yet this season. Wait. Scratch that. Chris Johnson hasn't rushed for 100 yards yet this season. TOTAL. In three games, the same guy who ran for 2006 yards in 2009, and 4598 yards in his first three NFL seasons, has just 98 yards on the ground this year... on 46 carries... and he's yet to get in the end zone. Now I don't know if teams are just overplaying the run a ton when they play Tennessee, or if this is a product of his holdout, or some combination of the two, or something totally different, but I think it's safe to say this isn't what Titans management envisioned when they gave Johnson his monster contract. However, the Titans are winning games right now, so I guess as a Tennessee fan I can't complain too much. And as bad as Johnson was this week, his backup Javon Ringer was worse going for -6 yards on 6 carries. Here's what Johnson has done so far this year:

8) Lions 26 Vikings 23 (OT) - For one half of football, this looked like the Lions team that we've been accustomed to watching over the past decade or so. The Vikings put 20 points on the board, Adrian Peterson had 73 yards and a touchdown, and the Lions were held scoreless. Then we saw the Lions team that hasn't lost yet this year. I don't know what head coach Jim Schwartz said to his guys at the break, but whatever it was, it worked. Detroit came storming back behind Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson aka Megatron, and company and actually went ahead 23-20 before the Vikings tied it late and sent the game into overtime. But Stafford hit Megatron on a 40 yard pass play on Detroit's first possession to set up 41 year old Jason Hanson's 4th field goal of the game giving the Lions their first 3-0 start since 1980, i.e. before I was even born. It also marked the first time since 1997 that the Lions have won in the Minnesota. Exciting stuff for a franchise that went winless back in 2008. Unlike the Bills, I am convinced the Lions are for real. Oh yeah, and the Vikings have now blown halftime leads of 17-0 and 20-0 in back to back weeks and have blown double digit leads in all three of their games. Brett Favre never would've let that happen. Kidding.

9) Saints 40 Texans 33 - Just a good old fashioned shootout here as Matt Schaub and Drew Brees combined for 743 yards and 6 touchdowns. It was back and forth throughout, but the Saints prevailed at home thanks to Mark Ingram's first NFL touchdown, scored with just under 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Even without Arian Foster, the Texans offense was able to go toe to toe with New Orleans, but Houston paid for its inability to convert in the red zone in the first half being forced to settle for 3 field goals and Drew Brees and Company made them pay.

Photo Credit: sports.yahoo.com

10) Giants 29 Eagles 16 - Dream Team. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Good one, Vince Young. The Eagles lost Michael Vick to an injury for the second straight week, and the vaunted Eagles secondary gave up 254 passing yards and 4 touchdowns despite the Giants missing starting wide receivers Domenik Hixon and Mario Manningham. Victor Cruz, undrafted out of the University of Massachusetts a year ago, entered the game with 2 career catches and wound up with 110 yards and 2 touchdowns and Eli Manning and company enjoyed a HUGE divisional win dropping the Dream Team to 1-2. Mike Kafka threw a pair of interceptions in just 7 pass attempts in relief of Michael Vick who left the game due to what was thought to be a broken. Apparently it's not broken after all, so we'll see if he's out for any appreciable amount of time.

Photo Credit: newtork.cbslocal.com

11) Panthers 16 Jaguars 10 - Cam Newton is finally a winner. Blaine Gabbert is going to have to wait a bit longer. In a battle of rookie quarterbacks, neither was particularly impressive, but the number one overall pick in last year's draft was able to put together a 4th quarter drive that ended with a touchdown pass to tight end Greg Olson and give Carolina their first win of the year. Newton, who threw for over 400 yards in each of his first two starts, finished with just 158 on a rainy afternoon in North Carolina, but he didn't turn the ball over. His counterpart Gabbert finished with 139 yards but was sacked for a safety in the first quarter, fumbled 3 times (although he didn't lose any of those) and was intercepted once.

12) Raiders 34 Jets 24 - Oakland's offense amassed 234 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns, 171 of those yards and 2 of those scores by Darren McFadden, as the Raiders gave the Jets defense a pretty good punch in the mouth. That's something we haven't been accustomed to seeing lately. Mark Sanchez threw for 369 yards, but was stopped on a 4th and goal late in the 4th quarter stalling any hopes of a Jets comeback. I've heard the excuse that they had to travel all the way across the country to play on the West coast as to why they looked so bad, and while I'm not going to discount that as a factor, it still doesn't explain how they just got beat up the way they did. This is a team with Super Bowl aspirations and they did not look the part yesterday. McFadden now leads the NFL with 393 rushing yards including 5 runs of 20 yards or longer.

Photo Credit: newyork.cbslocal.com

13) Ravens 37 Rams 7 - No Lee Evans? No problem! The Ravens have rookie Torrey Smith, their second round pick out of Maryland. Smith didn't catch a pass in his first two regular season games and came out and caught three passes, ALL TOUCHDOWNS, in just the first quarter!! Smith finished with 5 catches for 152 yards and the 3 scores, as the Ravens bounced back after last week's loss to Tennessee. Rough start to the season for the Rams who've been matched up against the Eagles, Giants and Ravens through three weeks while dealing with injuries to Sam Bradford, Steven Jackson and Danny Amendola.

14) Chargers 20 Chiefs 17 - This game was a lot closer than I thought it would be. After getting outscored 89-10 in the first two weeks of the season and losing Jamaal Charles, Tony Moeaki, and Eric Berry for the year,  Kansas City wasn't exactly inspiring confidence in me, you know? I'm not sure if it was the absence of Antonio Gates, but the Chargers usually prolific passing attack was out of sync as Philip Rivers threw for 266 yards, no touchdowns and a pair interceptions. Fortunately their ground game picked them up as Ryan Mathews went for 98 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Chargers snuck by at home.

15) Packers 27 Bears 17 - Last year the Packers didn't have Ryan Grant or Jermichael Finley for the bulk of the season. This year they're both healthy and you're starting to see what a difference it makes. Grant led the Packers ground game with 92 yards rushing and Jermichael Finley hauled in 3 touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers as the Pack knocked off Chicago on the road. The Packers defense wasn't too shabby either as they held Matt Forte to just 2 yards rushing on 9 carries. Jay Cutler threw for 302 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but was picked twice and sacked three times as the Bears wrapped up a brutal stretch where they had to play Atlanta, New Orleans and Green Bay to start the season. Things should get a little easier for them next week when they host Carolina before they have to travel to Detroit in Week 5.

Photo Credit: m.host.madison.com

16) Seahawks 13 Cardinals 10 - Tarvaris Jackson ran one in from 11 yards out in the 3rd quarter, and that would be the last time anyone scored in this one. Jay Feely missed field goals of 51 yards in the first quarter and 49 yards in the 4th and that cost Arizona who wound up 3 points short. I don't have much to say about this game, but it does drive me to my next point:

17) The NFC West is awful - I really thought this was the Cardinals division to lose with the addition of Kevin Kolb, but after losing to Tarvaris Jackson and the Seahawks I'm starting to think we could see a sub .500 team win the division for the second straight year. The 49ers are 2-1, but after barely sneaking by the Bengals 13-8, can you really be sold on them? I mean, honestly, the Rams could still win this division even after an 0-3 start.

Photo Credit: seattletimes.nwsource.com

18) Bucs 16 Falcons 13 - Tough to figure out the Falcons right now. Get waxed by the Bears, win a shootout with the Eagles, get shutdown by Tampa Bay. Zero consistency. The Bucs defense sacked Matt Ryan 4 times, recovering fumbles on two of those, and Josh Freeman ran for a score as Tampa held on for a second straight win, only this time they didn't need to come from behind. Roddy White and Julio Jones combined for 15 catches and 255 yards, but the Falcons gained only 30 yards on the ground in the loss.

19) Steelers 23 Colts 20 - Well, I was right about one thing. The question as to whether or not Curtis Painter should start over Kerry Collins has officially jumped to the forefront. I just didn't think it would take a concussion to Kerry Collins to make it happen. Painter was just 5 for 11 for 60 yards, but engineered a late scoring drive that actually tied this game at 20 in the 4th quarter. Ben Roethlisberger had the last laugh though, driving the Steelers 60 yards on 10 plays to set up the winning field goal. Crazy fact for you: the turnover forced by the Steelers in the 4th quarter was the first turnover they'd forced ALL SEASON. Mike Wallace hauled in 5 catches for 144 yards for Pittsburgh putting him 2nd in the league behind Wes Welker in receiving yards with 377.

Photo Credit: upi.com

20) Cowboys 18 Redskins 16 - I honestly didn't watch most of this game opting instead to watch baseball and the Wild Card races. I did catch the end though. Rookie Dan Bailey, last year's Lou Groza Award winner while kicking for Oklahoma State, tied a rookie record by kicking six field goals and accounting for all of Dallas's scoring in an 18-16 win. Tony Romo, playing with a fractured rib, had the play of the game when he was flushed out of the pocket on a 3rd and 21 play late in the 4th quarter and delivered a 30 yard pass to Dez Bryant to set up Bailey's game winner. Romo finished 22 of 36  for 255 yards despite playing without Miles Austin and led a gutsy comeback effort. The Cowboys overcame 7 fumbles to get their second win of the season.

Whew... ok, so that covers the NFL. Moving on to Part II...

NFL Week 3 Picks

After some rather unprecedented success last week where I went 13-3, I figure we're due for a fall this week. On a side note, still couldn't win the office pool with 13 right. Stupid tiebreakers... Anyhow, here's what I'm calling for Week 3:

Patriots (2-0) @ Bills (2-0)

Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bills are a great story, but they haven't beaten the Patriots in like 7 1/2 years. Brady needs just 60 yards to reach 1000 on the season. I'm guessing he hits that on New England's first drive. Pick: Patriots


49ers (1-1) @ Bengals (1-1)

Andy Dalton is playing great, but the 49ers should be 2-0 right now if not for the Cowboys crazy comeback last week. Coach Harbaugh will have his team prepared and I'm betting they do everything in their power to make life miserable for Dalton. Pick: 49ers


Dolphins (0-2) @ Browns (1-1)

Miami is 0-2 but they played New England and Houston, who are both undefeated. Cleveland barely escaped Indy with a win last week and now Peyton Hillis apparently has strep throat. The emergence of rookie running back Daniel Thomas for Miami (107 yards rushing in his debut against Houston) will take pressure off of both Reggie Bush and Chad Henne. Pick: Dolphins


Broncos (1-1) @ Titans (1-1)

I made the mistake of picking against my Titans last week and they took it to the Ravens making me look stupid. Not today! The Broncos are not the Ravens, and Chris Johnson is poised for a breakout performance - in 2 games he has a TOTAL of 77 rushing yards and 0 touchdowns. Pick: Titans


Lions (2-0) @ Vikings (0-2)

Detroit has lost some astronomical number of games in a row in Minnesota. In fact you have to go back to 1997 when the Lions had Scott Mitchell under center and Barry Sanders in the backfield to find a Detroit team that got a win there. Detroit has a chance to go to 3-0 for the first time since 1980 and playing against a Vikings team that has really struggled, I see them getting there today. Pick: Lions

Photo Credit: fs64sports.blogspot.com

Texans (2-0) @ Saints (2-0)

I had a really tough time with this one since the Texans are on the rise this year and playing great through the first two weeks. But New Orleans is at home in the dome and you can't pick against them when they play there. Not right now at least. Chance for Houston to really establish themselves as one of the AFC's elite with a win here, and while it wouldn't surprise me to see them pull it off, I'm not confident enough to pick them. Pick: Saints


Giants (1-1) @ Eagles (1-1)

With Domenik Hixon now done for the year with a torn ACL, and Mario Manningham concussed and unable to go, the Giants are now looking at Brandon Stokley (age 35) and Victor Cruz (2nd year undrafted out of UMass) as their 2nd and 3rd best wide receivers. The Eagles may or may not have Michael Vick, who also suffered a concussion last week, but regardless who's under center, the Eagles are healthier and have more weapons than the Giants will be able to handle. Playing at home gives them even more of an edge. Pick: Eagles



Jaguars (1-1) @ Panthers (0-2)

Rookie Blaine Gabbert makes his first start for the Jags today after Luke McCown's meltdown against the Jets last week. The Panthers have been surprisingly competitive with Cam Newton at quarterback and while I don't think he throws for over 400 yards for a third straight week, I think this is where he finally gets his first win. Pick: Panthers


Chiefs (0-2) @ Chargers (1-1)

Kansas City has been outscored 89-10 through two games, and they just lost Jamaal Charles for the season last week. I don't know that you pick KC against anybody right now. Pick: Chargers


Jets (2-0) @ Raiders (1-1)

Last time these two teams played, Mark Sanchez ate a hot dog. DURING THE GAME! And he even took the time to put MUSTARD on it!


The Raiders are continuing to get better, but they just lost to the Bills last week. And I don't think the Bills are better than the Jets. Pick: J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!


Ravens (1-1) @ Rams (0-2)

The Rams do not catch a break after a tough Monday night loss against the Giants last week. The Ravens are coming off a humiliating loss at the hands of the Titans so you can bet they'll be looking to take that out on someone. Pick: Ravens


Falcons (1-1) @ Bucs (1-1)

This was another tough one as these two NFC South teams are both coming in off of big wins last week. The Falcons beat a tough Eagles team 35-31 and the Bucs erased a 17-0 halftime deficit to beat Minnesota. I give the edge to Matty Ice and the Falcons though because I think they are a more complete team. That being said, if this game is close in the 4th quarter, do not be surprised if Josh Freeman can pull off another comeback. Pick: Falcons


Packers (2-0) @ Bears (1-1)

This will make 3 straight weeks picking against Chicago. What a brutal schedule to start the season. Atlanta, New Orleans, Green Bay. Nothing wrong with being 1-2 against that slate. Until somebody beats the Packers, it's hard to pick against them. Pick: Packers


Cardinals (1-1) @ Seahawks (0-2)

A one point loss at Washington is nothing for the Cardinals to be ashamed of. Arizona will continue to get better with Kevin Kolb at quarterback. On the other side of the field I'm still not sold on Tarvaris Jackson who led the Seahawks to just 8 first downs against Pittsburgh last week. Pick: Cardinals



Steelers (1-1) @ Colts (0-2)

The only real question here is does Curtis Painter replace Kerry Collins as Colts quarterback at some point. Pick: Steelers


Redskins (2-0) @ Cowboys (1-1)

Like the Bills, the Redskins are a bit of a surprise this year. But unlike he Bills, I like them in their Week 3 matchup. Tony Romo has a fractured rib and is going to try to play, but his top receiver Miles Austin is out with a hamstring injury. Washington meanwhile is thriving under Rex Grossman and I like what Tim Hightower adds to their offense. Pick: Redskins


Last Week: 13-3
Season: 24-8


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Ten For Ten!

I don't get to brag about my ability at picking winners very often, especially in college football, but in this week's ESPN College Pick 'Ems I went 10 for 10. I don't know how much of an accomplishment that was this week since I wasn't even the only person in my group (and we're a group of 8) to pick all ten games right, but I'm going to enjoy the moment. I'm sure this won't carry over into my NFL picks today. I'll probably get like six right. Oh well...

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Alec Baldwin & John Krasinski - Yankees vs Sox Commercials

In honor of today's Yankees - Redsox doubleheader - I say today because it's Sunday on the bayou - here are the New Era commercials that John Krasinski (The Office) and Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) did inspired by the AL East rivalry.














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