NFL Picks - Straight Up

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae if she is checking in.

Our man Quikdraw has you covered on the Sox, especially with them having won the AL East last night - hopefully he'll check in with his unique perspective on things and predictions for the playoffs.

We're posting our NFL Pool picks in the straight up pool - we were a forgettable 9-7 last week for 44 points. The negative scores on a few highly weighted picks killed us last week. This week's suggestions

14) DALLAS over St. Louis - Bulger is playing with broken ribs and Steven Jackson is out with a bad groin, unless God took time off from hanging on on Detroit's sidelines miraculously curing Kitna's concussion, St. Louis goes into this game banged up and undermanned. Long day in Big D for the Rams.

13) SAN DIEGO over Kansas City - we're going with new "Hazel hasn't publicly committed to Chiefs" policy - no love for the Chiefs here. Plus, fantasy geeks tell us that THIS is going to be the week L.T. busts out for a few TDs. Who are we to argue?

12) INDIANAPOLIS over Denver - we were told that Manning has had huge days in the past against Champ Bailey and the Broncos. This pick is more about Denver's inability to score points - though Manning and the Colts get their share.

11) New England over CINCINNATI - if Derek Anderson and Matt Hasselbeck can beat the Bengals pass D - imagine what Brady and Moss will do.

10) Pittsburgh over ARIZONA - Steelers have a new offensive game plan, Arizona using Steelers' 2006 playbook, think the Steelers D will be able to anticipate what is coming?

09) Baltimore over CLEVELAND - Derek Anderson won't be throwing against a cream puff pass D this week, the Ravens D might outscore Cleveland.

08) MIAMI over Oakland - Culpepper starting for Oakland, you should know by now what we think of him.

07) Seattle over SAN FRANCISCO - 49ers D has trouble with teams that feature balanced attack - the clock strikes twelve on everyone's sexy week 2 pick.

06) Philadelphia over NY GIANTS - a counterfeit team against a bad team, Eagles win this battle of the pretenders.

05) NY Jets over BUFFALO - There aren't many starting QBs that Chad Pennington has a clear advantage over - JP Losman is one of them. If Losman doesn't go - the Bills go with a rookie. It'll be close, but the Jets win this one.

04) Tampa Bay over CAROLINA - expect Bucs WR Joey Galloway to be flexing his muscles after a few big plays - we aren't sold on the Panthers and we definitely aren't sold on David Carr. Remember Terrell says Garcia doesn't like "cats".

03) MINNESOTA over Green Bay - Favre has had some forgettable days in domed stadiums. Vikings will look to control the clock with Adrian Peterson and Kelly Holcomb managing the game. Upset special.

02) DETROIT over Chicago - the Bears can be beaten through the air, the one thing the Lions can do is throw the ball. Does anyone really expect Brian Griese to be THAT much better than Rex Grossman?

01) ATLANTA over Houston - yuck. Something tells us that the Falcons are due to win one, might as well be against the banged up Texans.


FRIDAY'S THREE STARS
Philadephia Phillies P Cole Hamels pitched eight shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk while striking out thirteen in a 6-0 win over the Nationals.

Chicago Cubs P Carlos Zambrano shut the Reds out over seven innings on six hits and a walk while striking out four in Chicago's 6-0 win.

Boston Red Sox DH Daviz Ortiz had three hits, including a solo home run - his fourth in seven games, to lead Boston to a 5-2 win over Minnesota.

Kudos to you if you figured out that these three guys figured prominently in yesterday's successful Three Play suggestions.


SATURDAY THREE PLAY
We had another great night going 4-0 again bringing the total for the week up to + $610. We'll go with one early game and post a couple for the night later on this afternoon.
New York over Washington - the Mets may very well choke and find themselves out of the playoffs - but it won't be this afternoon. They have to win this game to stay alive in the AL East and they'll get it, especially after losing to the Nats last night. John Maine vs. Chris Seddon - that should be enough to say New York wins today. Lay $100 on the Mets - $250.


SUGGESTED READING MATERIAL FOR HAZEL
Time for Hazel to consider coming home???

Leafs win over Red Wings

Leafs still have issues in goal

Damian loves goaltending controversies

Cola out for season opener against Tards

Back to the days of firewagon hockey for Leafs

That's it for today - thanks for taking the time to check in. Have a great one peeps.

Hazel, we hope things are groovy in your world.

We're Out!