We have six races left in the 2011 Formula One World Championship. Both the World Drivers’ Championship and the World Constructors’ Championship are all but wrapped up. With a maximum 125 points left to be earned by the drivers, Sebastian Vettel leads the WDC by 112 points. All Vettel has to this weekend is finish on the podium and he’ll clinch his second championship. Meanwhile, Red Bull leads the WCC by 116 points over McLaren. It’s a long way from clinched but it’ll be hard for Macca to close the gap. Continue reading
Sports
NFL Week 2 Power Rankings
Tom Brady broke Cam Newton’s record for most yards passing in the first two games of a season. (Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
The second weekend of NFL games brought what should have been a relatively easy gambling schedule but sadly, some teams *cough* Baltimore *cough* decided not to put forth their best effort. They will be appropriately docked in the Power Rankings.
Best game of the weekend was a toss up between Raiders @ Bills and Eagles @ Falcons. Personally, I really enjoyed the Bills comeback victory even though there was little to no defence in that game at all, particularly in the second half. The Bills scored a touchdown on every drive they had in the second half while giving back several to the Raiders. It was back and forth and the home team prevail. And that is exactly what happened in the Falcons game as well. I think the Eagles were the more impressive team but they really missed Vick in the fourth quarter. The Vick injury was among the flukiest injuries I have ever seen. He got hit lightly and while collapsing smoked his head into one of his offensive linemen. Bad break and hopefully he recovers quickly enough but this is eerily similar to how Kolb lost his job (kidding Kafka wasn’t bad but he’s no Vick either).
There were several impressive victories this weekend and with pardons to the Lions and Jets, the most impressive win of the weekend was New Orleans against Chicago. Most people would have predicted this win but the Saints really took apart the Bears and reaffirm my belief that they are among the elite in the league. Like I said earlier, the NFC South should be an exciting battle.
On to the Power Rankings!
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NFL Week 2 Drinking Game
If there’s one thing that goes perfectly with the #1 most watched sport in America, it’s alcohol. But one disappointing thing I found in Week 1 of the 2011 NFL season was a lack of drinking games that covered specific games. There were a couple of generic drinking games floating around the internet but nothing that covered the specifics of the games I was watching. So as an experiment, here is my take on an NFL drinking games with special rules for each game and each network. Continue reading
OUA Gameday: Week 3
We’re a quarter of the way through the OUA regular season and two teams have clearly risen to the top of the OUA. They’re also the same top two teams from last season and will be doing battle this week. The Western Mustangs will play host to the Ottawa Gee-Gees in this week’s big game but almost all of the games this week look like they could be instant classics. Continue reading
2011 NFL Week 2 Picks
I am not going to lie; I got absolutely crushed in Week 1. I wasn’t able to get anything going. I had a terrible feel for a lot of teams and a lot of teams really surprised me. Chicago was far, far more impressive than I ever thought they would be. The strong defensive performance wasn’t that surprising but Cutler performance was surprising. Chicago truly looked like a dominant team. It’s possible that I have significantly underrated them.
Additionally, Atlanta was an absolute disappointment. The Falcons looked brutal on all three aspects of the game. They were behind on special teams, defence and offence. The effort was so poor I am concerned about their ability to compete for the rest of the season. I still think they are making the playoffs but I feel a lot less secure about them this week than I did in the preseason.
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Formula One: TV Blackouts Need To Be Lifted
Near the end of the 2010 season, the Canadian broadcaster, TSN, became the only F1 coverage available to Canadian viewers for qualifying and the race. Previous to that, the race was also available on the standard definition feed of Speed Channel, the US broadcast rights holder. This was a result of TSN exercising its right to blackout the feed of other broadcasters to protect its rights to the local market. While that’s entirely fair under the contracts both broadcasters signed, it’s unfair to Canadian viewers who are being force-fed sub-par coverage. Continue reading
NFLWeek 1 Power Rankings
Are these Week 2 Power Rankings or Week 1 Power Rankings? I am going to say that they are Week 1 rankings because that is the week that has passed. Perhaps the proper way to say it would be Post Week 1 but that sounds stupid so we’ll stick with Week 1 Power Rankings and build from there.
The first weekend of NFL games brought a couple of good games, several unpredictable games and a handful of bad games. I think I will write that sentence again and again this season because every weekend you can say that. I really enjoyed watching the Saints @ Packers. It was worth it if you stuck it till the end to see an enormous goal line stop. The Packers defence were more ferocious on that play then the sharks In Shark Night 3D! I felt really bad for Ingram.
Best game of the weekend was hands down the Cowboys @ Jets game. That was fun even if it ruined me for work the next day. Dez Bryant looked good in the game and I thought the Cowboys had the game in hand but the Jets relied on their defence as they have all through the Mark Sanchez era. Creating two turnovers in the fourth quarter keeping the game close finally Nick Folk kicked a beauty to win it for New York.
Most impressive victory this weekend was Washington over the New York Giants. That took me by surprised. I knew Eli Manning wasn’t great but he was outplayed by Rex Grossman! I don’t expect Washington to keep this up but its looks like they are not as bad I thought they would be.
Anyway, I shall now overreact to Week 1 wins and losses and proceed to the Lowdown Power Rankings.
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OUA Gameday: Week 2
Today is the start of another season of OUA football action. Last year, we saw the season conclude with a final second field goal giving the Western Mustangs the Yates Cup at the hands of the Ottawa Gee-Gees. This year’s OUA battle looks to be wide-open but the picture will become a little clearer starting this afternoon with the first slate of OUA football games for 2011. Continue reading
2011 NFL Week 1 Picks
The 2011 NFL Season opened yesterday and continues this weekend which is awesome for football fans and sad for baseball who will watch its attendance numbers dwindle as there are no exciting pennant races remaining and football is awesome! This season instead of trying to write something educated and brilliant for every game, I am going to limit it to the five games I feel most confident about (similar to the Hilton Super contest without putting thousands of dollars on the line) and then my picks for the rest of the games without any analysis. If that doesn’t make you happy then pretend that my analysis says; this quarterback is better than that quarterback!
In Order of feeling the best about! Home Team is in CAPS and line provided by www.sportsbook.com Continue reading
NFL Preseason Power Rankings
1. New England Patriots
Another year of Brady and Belichick. The Patriots look to rebound from a dismal playoff showing against the Jets. They have all the offensive tools to compete but their pass rush remains the biggest question. Despite that, they are my clear favourite to win the Super Bowl this year.
2. Green Bay Packers
Super Bowl Champions. It has a nice ring to it. The Packers don’t have a lot to prove but major injuries that were suffered last year to Ryan Grant and Jermichael Finley they should have enough fire to compete hard. If Aaron Rodgers wants to be considered elite with Brady and Manning, he needs another great year and with the weapons available to him, he should get to that level.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers enter this season on much better terms than last season. They have less serious scandals to deal with. The team is mostly the same that went to the Super Bowl last year and has signed the players that they needed to. Ben Roethlisberger should be better connected with his receivers so watch for a lot of pump fakes followed by the bomb to Mike Wallace. Not surprisingly the favourites to win the AFC North. Continue reading
The Lowdown 