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NFL Week 3 Picks

So I left my nice write up on my work computer and I have little desire to rewrite the rubbish I had before. So I will just be making some picks this week without going over what I missed last week.

Home Team in CAPS
Lines provided from http://www.sportsbook.com

Falcons (+3) Over SAINTS
Something about the Saints Monday night performance rubbed me the wrong way. Drew Brees has not been the elite quarterback he showed he was last year and doesn’t get there this week as The Falcons run over the Saints in New Orleans.

CHIEFS (+3) Over 49ers
The 49ers need to win this game if they have any desire to play into January this year. But I don’t think they will find it. I really like the Chiefs home field advantage and the confidence that they will be playing with after two straight victories. Matt Cassell worries me but I think the Chiefs still prevail using a strong running game.

Lions (+11.5) Over VIKINGS
11.5 points… The Vikings are just barely averaging over that per game. I like the Viks to win but the Lions should keep it close. The Lions after all showed the can score in garbage time.

TEXANS (-2.5) Over Cowboys
Texans have beaten Indy at home. I think that the Cowboys could have a big day in the air. Romo should have a nice day throwing to Miles Austin and Dez Bryant but the Texans are going to be better on offence. They are just better offensively and they are home. Give me the Texans.

Titans (+3) Over GIANTS
The Titans struggled offensively against defence last week and the Giants just struggled. Eli Manning needs a confidence boost after getting whalloped by his brother but the Titans aren’t it. Chris Johnson is going to run like the wind today.

PATRIOTS (-14.5) Over Bills
The Bills are just helpless that they are using their quarterback from Harvard. Its going to be a long season for them. Brady has a huge day.

RAVENS (-11) Over Browns
Same as above except that the Browns have a slightly better quarterback. Baltimore needs to bury this team to show that they are legitimate Super Bowl contenders and at their home opener they have no reason not to.

Steelers (-3) Over BUCCANEERS
Its not clear how good TB actually is or how bad their opponents have been but Pittsburgh has rolled over the Titans and Falcons, two potential playoff teams. Amazing that a team starting their fourth string quarterback can be favored on the road but thats how good the Steelers are.

Bengals (-3) Over PANTHERS
Poor Jimmy Clausen. Gets his first start against a gritty defence that picked off Joe Flacco four times last week. The Panthers are going to struggle to much more than the Bengals. It should be low scoring and sloppy affair but ultimately the Bengals prevail.

Redskins (-4.5) Over RAMS
Still too early for the Rams. They are kind of on the right track but still need more pieces to be competitive. Donovan McNabb should be able to march up and down the football field in St. Louis and the Redskins put up a good amount of points while stopping Bradford and the Rams.

Eagles (-3) Over JAGUARS
I can’t predict games with the Jaguars in them. Last year I was 3-13 picking the winner in games with Jacksonville. This is a guess and nothing more. I think Vick should be starting but I hope he bombs because I think Kevin Colb will have a good career in Philadelphia and the only way you become a better player is to get in your reps. The Eagles won’t win the Super Bowl this year so they should be developing Colb. Just my two pennies.

Colts (-6) Over BRONCOS
Broncos lost a teammate this week and its a difficult situation to deal with. This game might be close but I think the Colts still win by a touchdown. It certainly doesn’t help that Champ Bailey is out. Manning lights up the Broncos secondary and Orton has a good game in this surprisingly high scoring game.

Chargers (-4.5) Over SEAHAWKS
As long as its not raining. Phillip Rivers should have a strong game and Seattle will show their true pathetic colours today. Hopefully they wont be wearing the bright green.

Raiders (+4.5) Over CARDINALS
Derek Anderson should not be favored by by 4.5 points against anyone. Period.

DOLPHINS (-2.5) Over Jets
I like the Dolphins defence in this game. Will Sanchez have a good game. It is highly unlikely. He rebounds nicely from bad games so he should be good next week. Should be a very grind em out game.

Packers (-3) Over BEARS
Game of the week and it should be a dandy.

I am 13-16-3 over two weeks which means that this week is mine to win!

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Sunday Link-Off: In Jeopardy

I haven’t watched the show yet but here’s Running Wilde’s Keri Russell.

Sports writer and blogger Jelisa Castrodale recently went on Jeopardy and proceeded to lay a beat down on a Jeopardy legend. Here’s her recap of the experience. (Out of Bounds)

Jose Bautista hit his 50th dinger of the year last week. The question remains: Is he clean? Well, here’s a far more intelligent examination of the situation than one Damien Cox will give you. (Joe Posnanski)

And your other fun baseball fact of the day: Before the Cubs had Steve Bartman, they had Al Bundy. (Slanch Report)

After the jump, ESPN’s new sideline reporter template, epic fan takedowns, and Cliff Clavin on Jeopardy. Continue reading →

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Entertainment Link-Off: Greendale Rocks!

There aren’t any films opening this weekend that cracked the fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes this weekend. Oliver Stone’s follow-up to Wall Street is a quasi-bust, Zack Snyder’s Legend of the Guardians isn’t getting rave reviews despite funny visuals and You Again starring Kristen Bell is getting drubbed by critics. Perhaps it’s best that we all just stick with TV now that the fall season is in full session.

After the jump, George Lucas is sitting on a pile of cash because of us, a few tidbits on Community, Scott Pilgrim DVD release date, Abigail Breslin has some vocal chops and the alternate opening sequence to Iron Man 2! Continue reading →

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OUA Morning Warmup: Week 5

For four teams, this week marks the halfway point of the regular season. For five OUA teams, halfway was last week. Either way, we’re getting in the home stretch of the OUA regular season. This week, only one game is likely to have direct playoff implications. Western travels up the 401 to try to ruin Guelph Homecoming with the winner gaining the advantage in the battle for the first round playoff bye. Meanwhile, Queen’s, Laurier, and Windsor all do battle this week looking to edge ahead in the battle for the last playoff spots. Continue reading →

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The Humanoids: Beta

Sorry for the misleading title. This post is not about the old videocassette format known as Beta-Max. I realize that a post about the history of Beta would be infinitely fascinating but today’s post is about the technology sort of beta. Beta, near as I can piece together, is the stage of production where something is mostly but not completely done. For example, the new Internet Explorer (though I think it’s more Alpha [early build] than Beta). So today’s targets are all things that aren’t done yet but are getting there. Continue reading →

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The Best of Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas 2010

Barrett-Jackson only runs four of its world-famous collector car auctions each year. The final auction is one of its newer ones. This week is Barrett-Jackson’s Las Vegas auction which appropriately takes place on The Strip at the Mandalay Bay Resort. Every year, millions of people drop billions of dollars in casinos looking to win the big jackpot. At Barrett-Jackson, car buyers will spend millions of dollars hoping to hit the jackpot by buying the car of their dreams or a collector car that will increase in value. So here are ten of my favourite cars from this week’s auction that will at least be cool for the lucky buyer that hits the auction block jackpot. Continue reading →

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Wednesday Link-Off: The Almighty Dollar

For no real reason, here’s Anna Kournikova in 3D. I wish I held on to one pair 3D glasses right about now.

The NFL doesn’t have a salary cap this year so teams have carte blanche (more or less) on total salary. So who are the biggest spenders? Mostly teams that suck. (Pro Football Talk)

There hasn’t been much in the way of bright spots for the Blue Jays this season. Fortunately, they have Jose Bautista to make everything better for fans. (Sports and the City)

Here’s a profile of sports columnist Jason Whitlock. The best line is “I try not to burn bridges, but he napalms them.” I can appreciate the need to do that. (New York Times)

After the jump, the death of the English language, scads of lists, and the new OK Go video. Continue reading →

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BioShock Infinite Gameplay Preview Released

The folks over at Irrational Games have released the first gameplay footage of their upcoming game BioShock Infinite. Fans of the first two games (like myself) will notice a few not so subtle differences between IG’s original BioShock and their second effort in the series (2K did BioShock 2 internally). But let’s take a look at this early footage and dissect it after the jump. Continue reading →

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Lowdown BlogCast Classic: July 21, 2009

It’s Clubs Week at UWO. While the frosh get their first taste of the hustle and bustle that is the UCC atrium crowded with hundreds of people grabbing at your precious cash, we have a quick primer for them of the dark inner machinations of Clubs Week. Sounds mysterious and evil doesn’t it? In reality, Steve goes to both fall and winter Clubs Week to start fights and make fun of people. Also in the Best of The Lowdown episode, the boys find out what not to use as pickup lines. Steve also tries to release his own rap album which might have been worse than both his rock and country albums combined. The show ends with Steve going on his tour of campus to show (through sound) the frosh around some buildings they aren’t going to be setting foot in. In all, it’s a half-hour of classic Lowdown hilariousness and insanity.

Click here to download the 10 MB podcast version.
Click here to download the 26 MB high-quality version.

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Not News of the Week

If it’s not worth talking about, then it must be the Not News of the Week.

Our first weird story of the week might not even be true. The Sun newspaper in Britain reported that a British teenager sent an insulting email to US President Barack Obama and was told by police that he was barred from ever entering the country. The teen claimed that he was drunk at the time he wrote the email and called Obama a “p***k.” (I’m not entirely sure what the apparent insult was.) Local police went to the man’s residence to pass along a message from the FBI that he’s no longer welcome in the USA. However, the blog Gizmodo says that Homeland Security doesn’t tell people that they’ve barred entry from the country. They just make notes on the person’s file and they’re turned away at customs. So what’s the weirder part of the story: That the kid was banned from the USA or that it looks like a newspaper ran a fake story? Continue reading →