A place where Haters Gonna Hate and Skaters Gonna Skate. Bringing you biased reports on Boston University hockey and other nonsense. We blog a thorough game of hockey. E-mail us at baystateroadsports@gmail.com or follow us on twitter @bsrs_blog
Superfans need not read past here.
Happy Thanksgiving followers! Today wouldn't be as special without football. So we have 3 great games on tap for today. As always aim for perfection.
Texans vs Lions: Fun Fact: Lions haven't won a game on Thanksgiving in 9 years. So I am hoping the trend continues. Texans win by 2 TDs. 35-21
Redskins vs Cowboys: this will a great game to watch mid meal if you can find away from the dinning room table. RG3 should be able to shove a few points up Rob Ryans ass and handle the lead with care. Enough care to win. 20-14 Skins
Pats vs NYJ: The Best Game In My Honest Opinion for Today. Pats held serve at home and I think the Jets can do the same too. Having Gronk hurt doesn't help Patriots cause. Still think Cro will pick one off just to piss off GW. 24-17 Jets
Again Happy Thanksgiving from the BSRS Crew to your family & friends! Gobble Gobble In My Belly!
Let's get straight to it. Always aim for perfection.
Green Bay vs Lions: Lions need this game. Lions are looking for the Wild Card spot. Lions by a late TD scored by Megatron.
NYJ vs Rams: Jets suck. Pretty depressed about this team. Rams and Brian Scotty wins by a few TDs.
San Diego vs Denver: Rivers & Co. need this game to stay in the AFC West but Peyton is playing exceptional. Peyton has struggled against SD in the past but Denver has a defense to back him up now. Denver and their pot smoking ways win by 2 TDs.
Indy vs Pats: Luck vs Brady! Yes, I think Luck is the next coming of the QB for all time QBs. This will be a gunslinger match up. I want this game to be entertaining. Maybe 38-31 Pats.
Baltimore vs Pittsburgh: put the check mark next to the Ravens especially with Ben (There Raped That) hurt.
Chicago vs SF: Whichever defense scores more points will win this game. SF with the win in a close match up.
In other news, look for a special Turkey Day Pick Em because turkey and football just are awesome together and OH yeah Pats vs Jets.
So last week I lost my one and only game. Oh well. I expect to hold serve later in the season against the Pats. Hopefully I could predict this weeks game better than I do in HE Pick 'Em. As always: aim for perfection.
NYJ vs Miami: the Jets should've lost the first meeting between the teams. I expect Miami to play with a chip on their shoulder and win.
Pats vs Rams: playing this game in LondonTown, and by the tweets from ESPN Pats beat reporter the Hooded One is taking this seriously by practicing in a parl across the street from hotel. Expect a close game. Pats win.
NYG vs CowGirls: Eli is undefeated in the Girls in new home. Expect that to continue. Best road team I've ever seen.
Falcons vs Eagles: Got the Eagles in this one. I think I am just feeling the Andy Reid undefeated after bye week record.
Saints vs. Broncos: I think while Peyton is having a slice of two from Papa Johns, Drew will put a number that Peyton can't match.
Saints win.
Cardinals vs. 49ers: I think the Cardinals have something to prove but am taking the SF.
Extra:
Tigers vs Giants (MLB): who cares? lowest tv ratings for a World Series since 1968. When does Spring Training start?
Recently I decided to abbreviate this to something similar we do for college hockey pick 'em. So I am going to do each week the 2 New York teams, the Pats(of course), and 3-4 other big games for that week. Doing each game is too boring esp for those Raiders vs Browns type of games. So as always aiming for perfection. Leggo!:
Colts vs Jets: I want the Colts to go on a tear and win 5-6 games straight for their head coach. Sadly that can start next week. Jets play better this week. Win by a TD.
Cowboys vs Ravens: some smart people on ESPN picked this as a Super Bowl match up. I didnt. Cowgirls suck. Ravens bring the defense this week and win comfortably.
Patriots vs Seahawks: Seahawks have a underrated defense, IMO, but the Pats offense looks too good when they give Welker the rock. Pats win by 2 TDs.
Giants vs 49ers: rematch of the NFC Champ game, should hold to the billing. 49ers will again have an upper hand with Giants from last year on their team plus they are home. Giants win this by a late FG.
Packers vs Texans: I wasnt impressed last week by the Texans. If the Jets could move the ball, the Pack can def move it. Packers will need to play better defense to win this game. I dont think they can. Texans play a smart gameplan and win.
Lions vs Eagles: Lions need this bad and Eagles need this bad too. Both QBs havent been impressive. Need fantasy points, Go Lions!
Entering last nights draft with the BSRS crew and Alexx Privitera, I was thinking on who will make the Super Bowl this year and other topics. So I decided to share these thoughts with you and other thoughts about the upcoming NFL season.
Hey ya'll! So today is the 2nd biggest day in the NFL. Giants vs. 49ers and New England vs. Ravens. Let me start and say that I predicted these teams from last week and I predicted how 3 of the games would finish (I am awesome, and I know it). So lets start in the AFC.
I am going to take the New England in a close game. The reasoning is Brady to TEs or small white WRs. I like the Ravens defense a lot and they will probably force a lot of punts but Brady will be magical on a couple of drives. With Reed and Lewis playing tight coverage on the TEs I think it won't be as high scoring as last week. I think the NE defense finally has shown up and are starting to get healthy at the right time to hinder Flacco and Co. If I was the Ravens head coach, I should start praying that Ray Rice controls the ball and time of possession and Suggs just goes berserk on the pass rush to have a chance. I think the biggest difference is that the Ravens don't play well on the road and Brady is pretty good at home in the playoffs (9-2).
The 2nd game is a match up of a regular season game between the Giants and 49ers, which the 49ers won on a game saving INT in the Giants final drive of the game. But things have changed since that time, the Giants are playing as arguably the best defense in the postseason and the the front four have been playing on another level with the likes of Osi, JPP, and Tuck. On the other side of the ball, the 49ers have shown that they can score and play with the best offenses in the NFL (read the Saints). The weather is suppose to be bad and the field sucks there supposedly. I think the big deciding factor of the game will be Giants WRs YACs (yards after catch). If you look at the last few games the Giants have played they have had big plays from Nicks and Cruz and all the big plays come on 20-25 yard routes that they turn it up field and score. If the 49ers can stop the big play and just limit Eli Manning (you can't spell ELITE without ELI) to 15 yards and in I would take the 49ers BUT I am not going to too because of the Big 3 of JPP, Osi, and Tuck. I think they will control the type of offense the 49ers run and they will stop it. I like the Giants in this game that will be a tight affair.
I went 2-2 last week going perfect in the NFL and winless in college including a tough one point loss in the TCU game in which they won by only 2 with a three point spread. They were killing me but hey you win some you lose some. Now standing 22-13 overall here goes another run at it this week.
- I hate both of these teams with a passion so I really hope both lose but that is impossible. So I am going with Indy at home because Rex Ryan runs his mouth too much and it annoys me. Hopefully once the game is out of hand Peyton tears his acl or stays healthy until James Harrison knocks him out next week in Pitt. This might be the only time I ever slightly root for the Colts ever but they just don't talk as much or have as many kids(Yes, I am talking about Antonio Cromartie). Looking at Peyton Manning still annoys me because he looks like such a fucking hick who just can't wait to get home and make love to a relative or Brett Favre. They would be perfect together. Anyway, Colts win by 10-14 in this one because Manning is better than Sanchez 100 out of 100 times.
The pick- Colts(-3)
Packers vs. Eagles O/U- 46.5
- Two of the best Qbs in the NFC battling here so I am taking the over. There is no way either defense can hold down either QB. MVP candidate Mike Vick is sure to put up some points while Aaron Rodgers put up 45 and lost last year in Arizona so he probably plans on putting up more than 45 this year.
The pick- Over
NCAA
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl Nevada vs. BC(+) - I think if you know me at all you know where I am going with this one. Nevada all the way baby. BC sucks! Nevada beat Boise State so they gotta kill Newton College in this one. Go Wolfpack!
The pick-Nevada(-8)
-Other news and notes, ex-Terrier Colin Wilson had three points(1g,2a) last night for the Nashville Predators in their 5-2 win over the LA Kings at the Staples Center. See the highlight below.
-Kevin Shattenkirk extended his pointless streak to nine games after having an eight game point streak. These runs are what you are going to get with Shatty which we learned all too well last season.
Here is a nice New Year's ever edition of my picks as I am surrounded by those idiots with their stupid hats and 2011 glasses. If I see one more idiot, I think I might just start stabbing them and go on my anti-New Year's rant but I digress.. I went 2-1 last week to improve to 20-11 overall which is pretty good I think right? Here is this week's picks which is going to stick to football but I will mix it up between bowls and the final week of the NFL regular season.
NFL: Cleveland@Pitt(-6) - The Steelers need a win to clinch a bye and the AFC North. They roll a Cleveland team that has rolled over and played dead since Peyton Hillis began to slow down. He is also questionable for this game so I think that Pitt defense has a field day against rookie Colt McCoy.
The pick- Pitt(-6)
San Diego@Denver O/U -47 - Neither one of these teams play defense whatsoever so the over/under is the easiest bet here in a week of uncertainty with which teams will play their starters and such. Denver gives up 30 a week and are easily the worst defense in the league. Tim Tebow has given the team a spark and will put up points for Denver so look for a high scoring game here.
The pick-Over 147
NCAA Capital One Bowl Michigan St. vs Alabama(-10) - Alabama has three losses this season while Michigan State has one this season. How does this lead to Alabama being favored by double digits? This makes no sense to me. Go Sparta!
The pick-Michigan State(+10)
Rose Bowl- TCU vs. Wisconsin(+3) - This is a tough call but I am going to show some faith in the mid major just for felizmiguel and go with TCU here. The Horned Frogs are legit and prove it tomorrow on national TV.
This young Patriots team seemed like the rest of the season was going to be them stomping all over the rest of the NFL.We all know though that anything can happen on any given Sunday. One mental lapse and a team goes from one seed to six seed overall. The Patriots certainly did not play their best game ever last night. They did do enough to come away with a 31-27 win over Green Bay lead by third year(first start) QB Matt Flynn who at times looked like Johnny Unitas out there against the young defense. Tom Brady then only passed for 163 yards and without much of a consistent running attack, this game seemed lost. The Packer held the ball for over 30 minutes longer than the Patriots yet this team found a way to win the game. The big plays were a 36 yard INT returned by Kyle Arrington for a TD and a 71 yard kickoff return by offensive lineman Dan Connolly which is making highlights(see below) all over the country today. Those plays lead to 14 points and the defense came up big on the last drive with two key sacks by Dane Fletcher and Tully Banta-Cain(after a costly penalty that negated an interception that would have ended the game). Overall, no one played great or had a stand-out game but the team did enough to win once again. The Patriots now sit two games above the rest of the AFC and one win or a Jets loss from clinching home field through the playoffs which is huge for this team that is undefeated at home the last three years with Tom Brady as QB.
Winners: 1. Tom Brady- not a great game by any means but he managed the game and threaded the needle when he needed to move the chains. 2. Aaron Hernandez- two TD's and another solid performance by one of the rookie TE's. 3. Dan Connolly- The video below says it all but he left the game at the half for a concussion or from being so tired from this run...I am not quite sure. 4. Kyle Arrington- He responded nicely from getting beat on a Greg Jennings(click on it if you wanna laugh) touchdown to pick off the next slant he saw and have a great return on it for a TD. 5. Dane Fletcher- The rookie out of Montana State had a huge sack at the end of the game to seal the deal and is showing some good stuff with his improved playing time with Brandon Spikes out four games due to suspension. 6. Devin McCourty- plays through a rib injury to make some great plays including his first career sack. 7. Vince Wilfork- played a ton this week due to injuries to Ron Brace, Mike Wright, and Gerard Warren and made a huge impact on the game throughout.
Losers: 1. Rob Ninkovich- missed a tackle on John Kuhn that lead to a Packer third down TD in the third quarter and could have cost the Pats the game 2. Tully Banta-Cain- Yes, he had a sack late but the game should have never come down to that as he got called for a dumb illegal hands penalty that negated a Brandon Meriweather INT that would have sealed the game. 3. Brandon Meriweather- He knocked his own defender(McCourty) off the ball that lead to a James Jones TD in the first and his pick didn't end up counting so he is a loser this week.
Cardinals tend to get killed on MNF and then blow up on the reporters huh? I love this video from last night just because it gives me a reason to post the famour Denny Green clip.
So I went 2-1 last week with the over/under not going my way so I am going to avoid that shit from now on. I am now 7-4 overall though which means you would be making money by listening to me somehow. Yes my win NCAA game was a win by a half a point as Michigan won by 13 with 13.5 line but hey a win is a win. Sunday was a little more comfortable as Carolina sucks so Tampa had their way with them. I am also going to start doing one or two college basketball games for the upcoming week as these seasons start going full force. I am hot right so here is some easy cash for you this weekend.
NCAA: Wisconsin @ Michigan(+4)- Yes, I am going with a Big Ten game this week. I will never pick the same team twice in a season so guess who I am going with here. That is right. Wisconsin is coming off an 83-20 win over Indiana. Yes, 83 points. They had over 300 yards of offense rushing the football alone. This week they go into the Big House and stomp all over Michigan's young defense who had trouble stopping people all year until I took the over last week of course. I think Wisconsin continues their offensive success with their 8th ranked offense(40.8 ppg) and 23 rd ranked defense(19.5ppg) keeps Denard Robinson in check for the most part and Wisconsin wins by 10-14 points. Wisconsin has two running backs(J. Clay-929,J. White-714) who could break the 1000 yard mark this season and a QB(S. Tolzien) who has 12 TD passes to lead the air attack. Michigan's 93rd ranked defense doesn't stand a chance this weekend. Wisconsin continues to rise the rankings after this win. The pick- Wisconsin(-4)
Badgers are the most fearless animal! They will kill Michigan this weekend. Fast forward to the 55 second mark to watch the good part.
NFL: Giants@Eagles(-3) Ravens@Panthers(+11) - This game seems like a set-up for the Eagles after a huge win over the Redskins last week but I am going for it. The Eagles are straight-up impossible to stop with Mike Vick as their QB. This guy has gotten better than he ever was by spending 20 months in jail. Maybe Eli Manning should spend some time in jail and he wouldn't get crushed by the (2-7)Cowboys. The Eagles are at home and the hottest team in football right now so a three point spread is nothing for a team that put 42 in the first half the other night. Eagles win by 14 over the G-Men and take control of the NFC East.
I couldn't decide to go with the Eagles or put my lock on whoever played Carolina for the second straight week. So instead I am putting both down. The Panthers are starting Brian St. Pierre who has a couple things going against him this week. 1. The Ravens' D is ridiculous and Ray Lewis is going to crush him 2. His top three RBs are out of the line-up. 3. He hasn't practiced since last January 4. He was being a stay-at-home dad as of Monday 5. His last name is French 6. He went to BC - That is enough reasons for me to pick against him and his awful team which is one ugly win at home over SF from being winless still. Ray Lewis might kill him during the course of this game because that is what Ray Lewis does. He literally kills people. The Picks- Eagles(-3),Ravens(-11)
NCAA Basketball: URI@ Charleston(+4.5) - URI almost knocked off Pitt already and continues the success in the 2K Classic Toledo Regional. They not only cover the 4.5 point spread but beat Charleston big and Rhody beats up their mascot again. This pick for Quack Quack Sr, an URI alum.
So the great QuackQuack continued on his run last week going 2-0 once again to bring my overall record up to 5-3. I will take it after that rough 0-2 first week. Last week was a little too close for comfort as both games were withing three points of the spread with Oakland making a last second field goal to get to OT and then win by 3 and cover the spread by one. I apologize for the heart attack I may have caused to others there. Lets hope this week's locks are a little more comfortable in the closing seconds.
NCAA: Michigan@Purdue(+13.5) - There are two aspects of this game that are a lock. The fact that Michigan will not cover and that the over/under will be over all day everyday. The o/u is 61.5 points so doing the intense math you figure each team needs to put up 31. First glance and you think that is a tough task. Then you look at both of these teams this season. Michigan averages 38 points a game. They give up 34 a game. That just makes this too easy. One could make the argument that Purdue only puts up 18 a game and gives up 28. Michigan gives up points with two freshman corners starting. They just can't stop people and try to win games by outscoring teams. They gave up 35 points to an 0-5 Indiana team. This is Indiana football not basketball so they blow. Thankfully their QB leads the nation in rushing or this team would be awful instead of just extremely inconsistent. Lets take a look at Michigan's season so far. They have beaten zero teams in the Big Ten by more than ten points. Forget about thirteen points. This team does not blow Big Ten teams out. Now they are going to Purdue and you expect them to win by two scores? I think not. Michigan loser or wins by one score but Purdue covers for sure.
On the O/U Michigan games have gone over the 61.5 points 6 out of their 9 games this season. That is ridiculous but just how high scoring these games are. 2 out of the 3 that didn't were the first two games of the season before teams gain some continuity and experience together. This is just way too easy. The Pick- Purdue(+13.5) O/U- O(61.5)
NFL: Carolina@Tampa Bay(-6.5) - The fact that Carolina is favored to come within one score of anyone in the NFL is ridiculous. Nevermind the 6-3 Bucs who are coming off a tough loss to Atlanta. They know they need to win to keep pace in the playoff race while the Panthers have two injured running backs,a rookie QB and a coach on the way out the door. To top it off, the game is in Tampa. Game,set,match. Tampa wins big and keeps pace in the NFC South. The pick- Tampa (-6.5)
So if you have been breathing at all the last couple days, you know what this post is all about just by the title. This is because it is all every sports writer in the world is talking about since Sunday when the NFL deemed there was a series of "egregious" hits. First, 90% of the players in the NFL don't know what egregious means and neither do I, so use normal words. Second, the NFL just decided randomly to become strict on this issue after years of letting it slide for the most part. This was never going to win any players over and it hasn't as many big name defensive players:present and past have spoken out against the new policy. The list goes forever from Ray Lewis to Mark Schlereth on ESPN. The players want to be able to play and some of them have taken it upon themselves to make a point by taking a stance on this issue.
Steelers LB Jerome Harrison is contemplating retirement after he was fine 75k for two hits to the head on Sunday. As Lil Wayne once told Katie Couric " I am a gangsta Miss Kaite. I do what I want. If I can't do what I want I'll just die." This is Harrison's mindset here. He is threatening to retire because he is a hard hitter and if he can't do that, he is less effective as a player. The fine is too steep and is not the best way for the league to deal with these hits. I feel like you can't just decide to enforce the rules Week 7 into a season. The three players fined this week were the example for the rest of the league and unjustly so. The league simply needs to tell the officials to use the rules in place. These rules have been in place for multiple years. Yet, no official has thrown a player out of a game for such a hit when that punishment is the fairest and most reasonable option. Fining players is just going to piss them off. Suspending them after is going to piss off fans and coaches. If a player makes a helmet to helmet hit with intent then he should be ejected. As a Patriots fan, I think Brandon Meriweather deserved to be ejected on Sunday against the Ravens. Belichick quickly yanked him out of the game anyway. Guys are going to get hit in the head in football. The hits are what makes the NFL great. Trying to protect little pussy receivers going across the middle of the field isn't going to win any fans besides those players and their agents. Most defensive players will be more careful about this now but some still won't. The game is meant to be physical and this is a huge overreaction by the league because some of their jerseys don't sell if the player is a vegetable apparently. Wes Welker got clobbered in the head in Week 2 by the Jets'Eric Smithand he was fine 7500 and not thrown out. Simply throw him out of the game and the players will get the message enough to not try to kill each other. The refs need to do their fucking jobs.
Ok. I am done ranting now. This is way overblown and not the publicity the league needs. Talk about the games coming up in Week 7 not what will happen if someone gets a boo boo from a hit. Look for money in the bank locks of the week tomorrow as I will be traveling for "business" purposes out to Amherst on Friday. That's right all two of our followers will get a recap of the hockey game where they will be allowed to hit each other in the head without any 15 yard penalties.
