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NFL Saturday Wildcard Picks


TEXANS (-4) Over Bengals

Since TJ Yates became the quarterback of the Houston Texans their points per game has dropped by 5 points. That doesn’t bode well for the Texans who will face the Bengals 9th ranked defence. The Texans are in the playoffs for the first time ever. Their path to the playoffs has been remarkable to say the least. Not having to compete against Peyton Manning probably helped but the Texans stayed resilient despite significant injuries on both sides of the ball. Houston’s defence is better than Cincinnati’s. They allowed the second fewest yards of any team and the fourth fewest points. Outside of one bad game against the Saints they have played outstanding D. The defence wont lose them this game. The offence also has a lot of special players on it. Arian Foster had an amazing season after being out the beginning of the season and the Texans rush game had the second most yards in the league. The problem the Texans have is at QB. Yates isn’t special and hasn’t been that good. The ball in his hands isn’t good for them and I expect them that they’ll be using Foster quite a bit.

The Bengals are a tough team to figure out. They never had a good win all season. Heck outside of Tennessee they barely had a good win. That being said they played some pretty tight games with some really good teams. They do have talent. Andy Dalton had a stellar rookie year and along with AJ Green should make a nice core for the Bengals for years to come. The Bengals defence is good and they might be able handle Foster. To win this game the Bengals will need Dalton to be playing better than he has recently.

I think that the Texans will be able to overcome TJ Yates and their defence will shut down the Bengals rookie attack giving the Texans their first playoff victory in franchise history. Texans 24 Bengals 17


Lions (+10.5) Over SAINTS

I’m not going to lie I think that the Saints will have no problem winning this game but the Lions offence has the power to keep up with the Saints.

The Saints are coming off an improved season after being eliminated last season by the Seahawks, another team that they were favoured by 10 points to defeat. Their offence was prolific as Brees broke a 30 year old record and Darren Sproles looked to be the best off season pick up. Their defence has played well enough to keep up but they gave up over 4,100 yards passing this season, third worst in the league. Not the best thing when Stafford just put up over 5,000 yards.

The Lions got crushed by the Saints the last time that they played because they played so undisciplined. I think there is a possibility the pressure will get to the Lions and they’ll be even more undisciplined but I think that they will be better and not rack up over 100 yards of penalties this game. The Lions defence was a little over rated coming into this season but they still have play makers on that team.

This could be the best game of the weekend and will probably be the highest scoring game. NBC made a good choice by picking it up over Tebow’s game. Saints 44 Lions 37

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Columns, Sports

NHL All-Star Game Fan Voting Is Broken; Here’s How To Fix It

The very public ballot box stuffing campaigns of the past seemed to be missing in this year’s NHL All-Star fan voting. However, very quietly, the fans of the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs stuffed the ballot boxes to get their boys into the game as starters. In fact, of the six starters voted in by fans, four are Sens and one is a Make Believe. Eight of the top-nine vote getter played for one of the two Ontario teams.

It has become painfully obvious that the current system of fan voting is broken. Whether the ballot stuffing campaigns are public or not, NHL fans are clearly not using their power to vote in All-Star starters to vote for the best players in the league but as a means to execute some sort of cruel joke on hockey fans everywhere. It’s time that the current system is scrapped in favour of one that mitigates the risk of blatant fan tampering with the All-Star Game. Continue reading →

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Last Day To Vote For The 2012 NHL All-Star Game

It’s the last day to vote for the starters for the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. Unfortunately for hockey fans, Toronto and Ottawa fan boys have stuffed the ballot box which will result in hockey’s all-star game becoming a laughing stock. The leading vote getters are Kessel, Alfredsson, Spezza, Phaneuf, Eriksson and Tim Thomas.

Unfortunately for us, Project Mayhem appears not to have taken the ballot box by storm as we had hoped. There’s still time to cast your 30 all-star ballots. To troll Ottawa Senators fans, you should vote for Dany Heatley, Martin Havlat, Marian Hossa, Zdeno Chara, Chris Campoli and Ray Emery.

Click here for the 2012 NHL All-Star Game ballot.

2 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Sports

Best Images of the 2012 NHL Winter Classic

Since 2008, the biggest game of NHL’s regular season has been the New Year’s outdoor game called the Winter Classic. The fifth edition of the game saw the classic rivalry between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers take center stage. The game was originally scheduled to start early in the afternoon but concerns over glare forced it to be pushed back two hours. The result was a great game that looked spectacular under the lights of Citizens Bank Park as the scene shifted from day to night. Here are some of the best images of this year’s NHL Winter Classic. Continue reading →

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Jerome Simpson Wins Week 16

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson makes the highlight of all highlight reel plays that you’ll see this week in the NFL. He finishes this 19-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton with a front flip over Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington for the major.

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Entertainment, Sports

Angels In The Outfield (The Complete Movie)

So baseball’s most coveted free agent, Albert Pujols, has left St. Louis high and dry and will become a Los Angeles Angel of Anaheim (of California of America of Earth of the Terran Solar System of the Milky Way Galaxy of the Known Universe). He signed a ten-year, $250 million dollar contract. In other personnel news, they signed one of the of free agent pitchers in C.J. Wilson. It’s almost like a miracle occurred for Angels fans.

And that (along with jet lag) brings us to this post. To celebrate what Angels fans will likely eventually come to know as the Failed Free Agent Miracle of 2011, here’s video of the last Angels miracle. It’s the 1994 movie Angels In The Outfield. Continue reading →

3 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Sports, Video Games

Video Game Review: WRC 2 (FIA World Rally Championship)

There was a short period of time when the Speed Channel would air one-hour recaps of each World Rally Championship event. These shows would show highlights and results of most rally stages and would have interviews and technical features. I always thought these guys were sort of nuts to try to thread the needle of a 300 HP race car on a dirt/snow/poorly paved road that’s maybe a car-width and a half wide with trees or a cliff or a large drop on either side of the road. Fortunately, my dreams of being a rally driving lunatic can be fulfilled virtually in WRC 2. But how good is this game at recreating the rally experience? I review the game after the jump. Continue reading →

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F1 Power Rankings: Brazilian Grand Prix

We’ve finally reached the end of the 2011 Formula One World Championship. After 19 Grands Prix over the eight months, F1 has reached the final round at Interlagos in Brazil for the Brazilian Grand Prix. There is still a mathematically alive three-way battle between Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber for second in the championship. Although if you’re really digging for a championship battle, Sauber and Toro Rosso are separated by 1 point for 7th in the Constructors’ Championship. Continue reading →

1 Comment Posted on by Steve Murray Sports

The Best of Occupy Tebow (Part 2)

The revolution will not be quieted until the media has learned its lesson. The media has been hot and cold on Tim Tebow and his inconsistent performances en route to a 2-1 record as a starter this season.  For over a week now, the people have taken to the comments section on an ESPN article on Tebow ostensibly to show what they really think of Tebow but in actuality to show ESPN and the media that they cannot dictate reality but actually have to report news accurately without an agenda..

After the jump, we have 25 more of the best comments from Occupy Tebow. Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Sports

F1 Power Rankings: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

We’re down to the final two races of the 2011 Formula One World Championship. This weekend, Sebastian Vettel could make it an even dozen wins on the season. Meanwhile, there is still a battle ongoing for second place in the World Drivers’ Championship. Jenson Button has a 13 point advantage on Fernando Alonso with Mark Webber a further six points back. That’s really the only battle left to watch unless you’re interested in the battle from 6th through 8th in the Constructors’ Championship. Continue reading →