These are the picks for the 2003 season. The bold represents the team selected to win. Games in red represent the Upset of the Week. At the bottom, The weekly and overall records for the season appear at the bottom. These picks are based purely on winners and losers with no consideration from the spread. The spread is only used to determine upsets for the Upset of the Week.
The best stretch to be a sports fan just begun. The NFL just crossed the midway point of the season, the NHL is in it's third week, and the NBA kicked off their season on the 28th. Now there's a professional game on every day of the week. The NHL and NBA make great distractions during the week until, of course, Sunday comes around.
Why bother keeping up with the other leagues this early in the season? Hell, what's worth watching in the NBA during the regular season? There's 82 games played, meaning there's a lot of time before the games actually mean anything. You're better off waiting until the NFL season is over before directing significant attention to pro hoops. Don't believe me? There's numerous reasons to watch the NFL over the NBA, at least until pro football closes shop at the end of January. In no particular order, here's 21 reasons why the NFL is better than the NBA:
1. The Football - A basketball is round, like a baseball, like a soccer ball, like a tennis ball, like a lacrosse ball...a sphere like most sports. A football though is...ah....um...hmm...funny-looking. Yeah, funny-looking. In other words, it's different.
2. Most Stadiums are Open-air - Played under the elements, adding other variables that makes games more interesting.
3. Symbolism - The green field represents the earth, with players of various races playing together. Peace on Earth.
4. Number of Teams - 32 franchises split into two 16-team conferences, the AFC and NFC. 29 can't be evenly divided.
5. 11 vs. 5 - Number of players in the field of play allowed. More strategy involved.
6. Free Agency Made Simple - NFL player gets a base salary, and a signing bonus. You try to understand the NBA's version with mid-level exceptions, dollar-for-dollar penalties on franchises and what-nots.
7. Player Salaries in Check - Minnesota Timberwolves just signed Kevin Garnett to a five year 100-plus-million dollar extension. Combined with his previous contract, he'll be able to buy a team.
8. The Super Bowl - The biggest sports spectacle every year, period.
9. Parity - Last five NBA champs: San Antonio, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio. NFL: Tampa Bay, New England, Baltimore, St. Louis, Denver. Diversity is much more interesting.
10. Cinderella Stories - St. Louis and New England bounced back from losing seasons to win it all. The Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, and Los Angeles Clippers don't look like candidates to pull a similar feat.
11. More Physical - Fouls are called for hand-checking in the NBA. The NFL recently said Miami running back Ricky Williams can be tackled by his hair.
12. The Officials - They are a part of the game as well. Who doesn't copy signals for penalties with the referee when it's against an opponent? What's holding? A personal foul? Running into the kicker? The pantomime is part of the show.
13. The Last Two Minutes of a Close Game - No-huddle offenses vs. prevent defenses and sophisticated blitzes. NBA is bombs away three-pointers and repeated fouls and free throws. Two minutes become 15 minutes of excruciating boredom.
14. No High School Players - No time to teach and wait for a kid to learn how to play at the professional level. Go to school, damn it!
15. Football Players Make Better Wrestlers - I'll take Bill Goldberg (former Atlanta Falcon) over Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone any day.
16. Villain Owners - Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, over time, has become loveable. To this day, people love to hate Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, making him a true bad guy.
17. Portland Trial Blazers - A.K.A. the Jail Breakers. Need I say more?
18. Green Bay Packers - The only publicly-owned team in professional sports. A one of a kind that may never happen again.
19. Unforgettable Plays - The Immaculate Reception. The Fumble. The Music City Miracle. For the NBA, it's like, "Remember when Johnson stole the ball, dived for it into the crowd, had a little popcorn, came back in, recovered the ball, dribbled it 84 times between his legs, performed a triple somersault in a pike position with one and a half twists..." Get the point?
20. Pro Bowl - Comes at the end of the season, unlike All-Star Weekend. So the regular season and playoffs go on uninterrupted.
21. Football is Religion - Game day is Sunday, a day of worship, either at the church, synagogue, or living room couch.
As for me, I have nine reasons to be happy. It was another winning week for me. Thank goodness the NFL season is a marathon and not a sprint.
Oakland at Detroit - L
There's two things I wish about Raiders quarterback Marquis Touiasosopo. One, that his name was reversed, making Touiasosopo his first name. The other is he had a brother that played defense in the league, like at safety or middle linebacker. That way, when their teams go against each other, it would be a Marquis Match-up! HA! Sorry, I couldn't help it. All joking aside, the Raiders handle their business against the Lions.
San Diego at Chicago - L
Chi-town is going through injury problems right now. The offense is hurting in particular. First and second string running backs Anthony Thomas and Adrian Peterson, number one receiver thatnumber86guy, and starting quarterback Kordell Stewart. Current starting QB Chris Chandler is healthy, but because of his injury history, he's listed on the injury report with with multiple choice boxes next to various ailments. The Chargers strut their stuff and walk all over the Bears.
N.Y. Giants at N.Y. Jets - W
The big question in Gotham is who starts at quarterback for the Jets. Considering Vinny Testaverde's recent play and the desire to get Chad Pennington up to game speed, head coach Herman Edwards should employ a tag team system like in professional wrestling. The Giants will be ready for both QBs and gang up on the Jets.
Carolina at Houston - L
Overtime has been very good for 'Lina thus far this year. They are undefeated in three contests that went into OT. But they won't play the percentages if they can put away their opponent away in four quarters. The game should be well in hand for the Panthers by the fourth quarter.
Indianapolis at Miami - W
Miami quarterback Brian Griese's completed 13 of his first 14 passes on Monday night. So maybe it's no coincidence that it takes 13 letters to spell out "A QB controversy." It has begun in Miami and we'll see how it plays out. No question Peyton Manning is the undisputed starter for the Colts and he leads Indy to a win.
Jacksonville at Baltimore - L
Baltimore's Kyle Boller is slowly getting better. He completed over 50 percent of his passes in the last game. But the quarterback's development is going slow. Jacksonville's Byron Leftwich is on an accelerated path and has shown flashes. The Jaguars passer shines again as he leads the Jags to the Upset of the Week.
New Orleans at Tampa Bay - L
It was the worst pass of 2002. Tampa Bay and New Orleans played into overtime when punter Tom Tupa had to punt deep in his own endzone. Seeing the rush coming his way, he abandoned plan A and tried to throw. It was intercepted in the endzone and the Saints won the game. As long as the T.B. offense doesn't put Tupa in the endzone to punt, the Buccaneers should come out on top.
Pittsburgh at Seattle - W
Someone, please, make the Steelers offense watch the mini-series "Roots" because it's apparent that the offense forgot who they were. Never before had a Pittsburgh attack lacked a physical running game and now we see that being a passing team doesn't work in the Steel City. Using a diversified attack, the Seahawks run and pass by the Steelers.
Cincinnati at Arizona - L
All good things come to an end. So do all bad things. 'Zona beat San Francisco for the first time in 10 years. 10 years! What do they do for an encore? It's hard to top that. The Cardinals still high from the win are brought back down by the Bengals.
Washington at Dallas - W
Is head coach Steve Spurrier in control of his Redskins team? His players are becoming skeptical, even after the ball coach said he will go back to using his fun-n-gun offense he made famous at the University of Florida. No one will believe Spurrier once the t.v. cameras show Washington owner Daniel Snyder in the coaches' box with headphones on. Head coach Bill Parcells calls his own shots in Dallas and his Cowboys show the 'Skins who's boss.
Philadelphia at Atlanta - W
Now that it's after Halloween, maybe Philly QB Donovan McNabb will play more like Dr. Jeckyl instead of Mr. Hyde from now on. Those nightmare performances are behind McNabb as the Eagles show their good side in a win over the Falcons.
St. Louis at San Francisco - L
There's more to the release of kicker Owen Pochman than the fact that he missed six kicks in the last seven weeks.The move also satisfies wide out Terrell Owens because Terrell disliked having a teammate with a name too similar to his. He's a happier player now, but the St. Louis defense will hit Owens repeatedly until Terrell can't remember his name. The Rams beat down the 49ers.
Green Bay at Minnesota - L
Vikings owner Red McCombs let the team have it after the disappointing loss to the New York Giants. He said the team "humiliated" the franchise. After a day, McCombs backed down from his comments, referring to the players as bumbling, uncoordinated baboons who happen to play football. Those words aren't taken too kindly as the Vikings rally together and come down on the Packers like a 800-pound gorilla.
New England at Denver - Monday Night - W
Well, the cat's out of the bag in Denver. Third-string and current starting quarterback Danny Kannell recently told the press, "If I was a defensive coordinator, I'd come after me." Kannell also told the run plays the Broncos offense will use as well as revealing that head coach Mike Shanahan loves lime Jell-O. With all the secrets out, the Patriots know exactly how to disarm the Broncos.
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