The Jock Rap

Buy or Sell

Sell: Parity in the NBA. During the offseason,the rich got richer and the poor,well,they sold everything that wasn’t nailed down. The Spurs snagged Richard Jefferson from the woeful Bucks for some fresh towels and a new set of Gatorade jugs. The Lakers signed Ron Artest. The Celtics added Rasheed Wallace. The Magic traded for Vince Carter. And the list goes on…Mavs (Shawn Marion),Cavs (Shaq),Blazers (Andre Miller),Bulls (Ben Gordon).

Buy: The Bucks,Nets,Timberwolves,Bobcats,Kings,Knicks,Clippers,Warriors,and Grizzlies (read:nearly 1/3 of the leagues’ teams) all being really,really bad. TJR has confirmation there are good seats still available for that mid-February Bucks-Nets matchup in the Meadowlands.

Sell: JaMarcus Russell ever being relevant as an NFL QB. Russell has regressed this season (if that’s possible) and his work ethic is somewhere just below Cheech &Chong’s. After a 6-for-11,2 interception performance in Sunday’s 38-0 loss to the Jets,he actually had the testicular fortitude to say “I don’t think it’s me personally. I really don’t.” Hey JaMarcus,way to man up.

Buy: Mark McGwire making a difference as the St. Louis Cardinals hitting coach. When not on the golf course,McGwire has spent hundreds of winter hours working with MLB players on their swings. And regardless of what you think about his career,the guy did hit 583 homers so we think he knows what he’s talking about.

Sell: Boise State’s chances at a BCS bowl game. The Broncos dropped behind TCU in the latest BCS Rankings. If TCU wins out,they’ll get the nod over a Boise State team with no one relevant left on the schedule. And we wouldn’t be shocked to see Notre Dame win out and beat both of them out for a BCS bowl game.

Buy: A national championship game that includes the USC Trojans if for no other reason than saying otherwise is just boring. Here’s what we see: Texas falls this weekend in Stillwater. Iowa loses November 14th in Columbus. Cincinnati drops a game to either West Virginia (Nov. 13) or Pittsburgh (Dec. 5),and USC faces the winner of the SEC Championship game for the title.

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Extra Year of Devo for ‘Cuse Fans

Maybe sucking horrendously at football isn’t so bad after all.

In a decision undoubtedly influenced by pity,the Big East Conference did the ‘Cuse a solid by granting guard Eric Devendorf an extra year of athletic eligibility after he missed the team’s final 25 games last season with a torn ACL.

The NCAA rule states that any player who competes in +20% of his team’s games will not be able to red-shirt that season for any reason –medical or otherwise. But each player’s situation is still judged on a case-by-case basis.

Devendorf played in 10 games last season (28.5%) averaging 17 points a game. The Big East’s decision ensured that the Orange’s main source of street cred with urban youth will continue to pound his chest and swear on national television for the next 2 seasons.

Orange classmate Andy Rautins sat out the entire 07-08 season with the same injury,and the two guards will be considered seniors academically,while maintaining 2 years of athletic eligibility.

Hallelujah.

College Football:Week 4

West Virginia kicked off week 4 of the college football season in exactly the manner the downtrodden Big Least Conference had in mind –an upset loss to Colorado. Seriously,the only way things can get any worse for the conference is…okay,give me some time to think about that one. Things are pretty bad.

Not many great matchups on tap this week,and only 2 between ranked teams:#6 LSU at #10 Auburn and #18 Wake Forest at #24 Florida State. The only other intriguing matchup is #3 Georgia playing in Tempe against Arizona State,unless you’re fired up about Tennessee Tech and Western Michigan.

The LSU –Auburn game features two of the best defenses in the country,and two offenses that are still trying to figure out how to score. Auburn won last week 3-2. My prediction for this week:The first team to score a touchdown wins (I think it’ll be LSU). Mark it down.

Why I Hate Pre-Season Polls:Reason #107

Week 3 –(15) Arizona State vs. (UR) UNLV

Score –UNLV 23,Arizona State 20

Week 4 –Arizona State drops out of Top 25 to #30

Again,this is a recurring theme here,but I just don’t buy the whole dropping-15 spots-in-a-week thing. How could the voters have been that wrong just 1 game ago? If we didn’t have to rank teams prior to the season for television purposes –and waited until we actually got to see them play 4 or 5 games before ranking them –I don’t think you’d see such huge swings.

Week 3 Upset Special:

I played the Air Force card again last week and the Cadets came through for me again. That runs my record to a “Upset Special” record to a pristine 3-0 on the year. This week,I’m taking Wake Forest,a 4 point underdog at Florida State,to win a big ACC contest on the road.

The Orangemen:

We finally did it. We made it to the top of the mountain. The ‘Cuse was officially crowned the #1 team in ESPN’s Bottom 10 Poll. That means they rank us dead last among all D-IA teams.

If they don’t beat winless D-1AA Northeastern this week,Greg Robinson should immediately be fired by Daryl Gross,and Daryl Gross should subsequently be fired by Chancellor Nancy Cantor. The Chancellor will then resign after a student uprising won’t let her leave her house without an AK.

Somebody please do SOMETHING. PLEASE.

My #1:

I just wrote up my Top 5 a few days ago,and USC is still at the top. In their first 2 games,the Trojans have outscored opponents 87-10. We’re awaiting their arrest on battery charges.

Knight Watch:

Mr. McKnight had an impressive game against Ohio State despite limited touches and no trips to the endzone. The sophomore rushed for 102 yards on just 12 carries. That’s 8.8 yards per carry for those of you counting at home.

NFL Week 3 Picks

Last night WVU / Colorado game started out with a flurry of scoring,but it settled down and we all got the UNDER 56.5 winner. Excellent game,but WVU played too conservatively and had their shot in OT blown when their senior kicker hit the upright. In the pros,I’m back from another solid +4 week in the NFL right on the heels of my 13-win opening week. The lines will get tighter and games harder to pick as Vegas makes the adjustments,so let’s roll into the Week 3 picks:

Houston @ Tennessee (-5) - Much like the ‘Stros in MLB,Hurricane Ike will have fucked with the Texans. Titans are not a welcome sight to a team coming off their Act of God induced Week 2 Bye.

Oakland @ Buffalo (-9) - Buffalo laid the smack down on Seattle in Week 1,and Oakland’s WRs are alot like the ones Hasselbeck had when he came to town –non-existent. McFadden gets his yards,but Edwards is playing great right now and the Bills move to 3-0.

Atlanta (-5) @ Kansas City - They just put this line out,so I’m adding this pick. Atlanta rolls KC’s 3rd QB in as many weeks and the currently inept LJ.

Arizona (+3.5) @ Washington - Warner is playing great and while the Skins D is good,they won’t stop both Boldin and Fitzgerald. This might not even be close.

Tampa Bay (+3) @ Chicago - Now Chicago will play a team where they have to throw the ball to try to move it effectively. I don’t know if their QB(s) can do that. Forte can’t carry the load all by himself;look at what Tampa did to Turner last week.

Carolina (+3.5) @ Minnesota - The line is begging for Carolina money,but I can’t take the Vikings. Steve Smith is back,Tavaris is OUT at QB,and AP is banged up. Panthers please.

Cincinnati (+13.5) @ NY Giants - As good as the Giants have looked,this game is Marvin Lewis’ job. If the Bengals can’t at least keep it close to the number,I’ll be shocked.

Miami @ New England (-13) - It’s a big number for Cassel to cover,but he won’t have to,because his Defense will. Miami might not score a point.

New Orleans @ Denver (-5) - Cutler leads the NFL in TD passes and passing yard,and the banged-up Saints D won’t stop him anytime soon. This will be a shootout,but I think eventually Denver’s D makes the difference.

Detroit @ San Francisco (-4) - Former team vs. new team for Martz. His new one has responded well to his offensive schemes,and O’Sullivan has had 2 good games now. I think Gore helps him out big time here and the Niners cover the number.

St. Louis (+10) @ Seattle - Seattle will win –maybe,and if they do,it’ll be by 3. Hasselbeck has no weapons,and is in for a long year. No one wants to go to 0-3,and I expect the Rams to come out firing.

Cleveland @ Baltimore (-1) - Browns want this game badly,but I don’t know if their defense can stop anyone. Baltimore looked good Week 1,and will run the ball well vs. Cleveland. If their defense plays inspired at home as usual,Brownies fall to 0-3.

Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia (-3) - Big Ben is banged up and Eagles will be looking to bounce back after a rough loss in Dallas on MNF.

Jacksonville (+5) @ Indianapolis - No Bob Sanders and a desperate Jacksonville team will translate into a running,smash mouth grind it out football game. Colts may pull it out of the fire last minute,but I don’t see them covering.

Dallas (-3) @ Green Bay - Green Bay has looked impressive,but as it turns out their wins were vs. 0-2 teams. Moreover,they let Detroit come back after squandering a big lead. Cowboys will put the pedal to the metal and move to 3-0 behind Romo and T.O.

NY Jets (+9) @ San Diego - San Diego is fired up and wants to bounce back,and the Chargers likely win this game,but the Jets aren’t that bad. Their offense has struggled at times,but they’ll be prepared and on the same page to handle a Chargers team that has a banged-up LT and Gates.

Those are the picks for Week 3. Hopefully the rest of the college picks hit tomorrow so we can sit back and enjoy Sunday’s action. Enjoy the weekend,and as always,bet with your head and not over it.

NCAAF Week 4 Picks

I really hope someone out there is following me,as I continued to ride out the streak last week. I would have swept the board if it wasn’t for the Bulls squandering a 14 point 4th quarter lead,only to push when they made their last-second field goal. There are plenty of good games this week,so my card is a little larger than usual. Here we go:

West Virginia @ Colorado UNDER 56.5 - WVU will look to establish the run this week after proving vs. ECU that Pat White is NOT a true passing QB. Colorado’s offense looked lost at times,and they’ll play tough on defense at home.

Wake Forest (+4) @ Florida State - Usually when you see a higher-ranked team getting points,its a trap. This may be the case this week,but Wake is the better team and this would be a huge ACC win if they can pull it out. FSU is missing some defensive personnel as well. Take the points.

Miami @ Texas A&M (+4) - A&M looked awful in Week 1,but Miami didn’t look any better and their offense looked terrible vs. Florida. Florida is a top-tier team,but their defense isn’t exactly the stoutest,and Miami failed to do anything all game. Aggies come out and play with some pride this week at home.

Akron (-8) @ Army - This is pretty much an auto-fade play on Army. They’re the worst team in Division 1 football,and they lack any real home-field advantage. I think the Zips put up 5 TDs on them,and that should be more than enough to cover.

Rutgers @ Navy (+7) - Another auto-fade,this time on Rutgers. Rutgers is severely over-valued here,they have name recognition but nothing more. They got ran over by North Carolina,and hopefully the Navy runs all over them too. Teel looked better in the 2nd half,but he did throw multiple INTs at home,and while this team needs a win badly,they’re on the road and they’re just not very good.

New Mexico State (+7.5) @ UTEP - NM has a leaky defense for sure,but their offense is potent. I see this being a shootout,as Holbrook has all of his WRs back from last year. Both teams will get their points,but this number might be too big for UTEP to cover.

Georgia @ Arizona State (+7) - ASU will be inspired and ready for this game. Georgia will likely win,but this will be close. I don’t know that Georgia can put up enough points on the road to blow past the Sun Devils here.

Those are my picks for this week,with 7 plays on the card. Check back tomorrow for my Week 3 NFL picks,where I’ve been just as hot lately. Good luck,and as always,bet with your head and not over it.