NFL Picks 2013: Championship Weekend

by | Jan 13, 2014 | 2013 season, NFL Picks

There were a lot of interesting match-ups in the conference semifinals this past weekend and many different results weekly-pickswould have created compelling conference championship games this weekend.

But at the end of the day, isn’t the final four probably the most interesting pair of games you could have hoped to watch?

Some may be tiring of the Peyton Manning/Tom Brady rivalry, I suppose. But not me. And this year’s is made more compelling by how many times New England has had to evolve throughout the season in dealing with the losses over time of Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski and, for a chunk of the season, Danny Amendola — and that’s just on offense.

And in the NFC, this is the game I’ve wanted to see all along. I pegged San Francisco and Seattle as the top two teams in the conference heading into the season and, though it didn’t play out exactly how I expected it would, in the end that was the result.

So … before picking the results for this week’s games, here’s the wrap-up of our divisional weekend picks: (more…)

2014 Finalists for Hall of Fame Announced

by | Jan 9, 2014 | Hall of Fame

Derrick Brooks, Walter Jones and Marvin Harrison are first-time eligible finalists for induction into the Pro Football

Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame. Their candidacies and those of 12 other modern-era candidates unveiled this evening will be debated and voted on until the group is narrowed down to five finalists who, along with two senior candidates, will receive up or down votes on whether they will be enshrined in 2014.

The announcement was made Thursday night on NFL Network. The final voting takes place during Super Bowl week and the final class will be unveiled in the days leading up to the big game.

Joining Brooks, Jones and Harrison as finalists are Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Andre Reed, Will Shields, Michael Strahan, Kevin Greene, Charles Haley, John Lynch, Aeneas Williams, Morten Andersen, Edward DeBartolo Jr. and Tony Dungy.

The group will be voted down to 10 and then to five. The final five and two senior candidates will be given yes or no votes. Up to five modern-era and two senior candidates can be inducted in any given year. This year’s senior candidates are Ray Guy and Claude Humphrey, who were selected by the Hall of Fame’s senior committee. They advance directly to the final vote. (more…)

2013 Playoff Previews: Divisional Weekend

by | Jan 8, 2014 | NFL Gambling, NFL Picks

As I mentioned in our picks segment, the divisional playoff round might be my favorite week of football all season. This week we get four games, all of which feature great teams, rivalries or some other reason why it could be compelling football.

Now, based on last week’s results, I’d suggest betting against anything I think is going to happen. I missed three point spread picks (two by two points or less, but still) and three over/under guesses – in keeping with a miserable betting performance during the season.

But the way I see it, that just means there is plenty of room for improvement.

So – here goes. This is what I think is going to happen this weekend (odds information from Vegasinsider.com and current as of Noon, January 8):

Saturday, January 11 (more…)

NFL Picks 2013: Divisional round

by | Jan 7, 2014 | 2013 season, NFL Picks

Okay, most of the pretenders are now done for the season. It’s time for my weekly-picksfavorite football weekend of the year.

Actually, Wild Card weekend was really, really good this year. There were some epic games, with three of the four being decided in the final minutes.

But normally it’s the divisional round during which I am most excited and interested. By the this weekend comes along you’ve usually narrowed down the contenders to eight top notch teams. That would seem to be the case this week. There are some great games on the slate.

Before we get to our picks, let’s do a quick review of last week’s.Tony had the best week, getting two of the four games correct. Anthony and I both got San Francisco’s win over Green Bay correct, but missed on the other three — though it’s hard to feel too bad. Both Saturday games could have gone either way.

Here’s who we think will win this week: (more…)

Hall of Fame names Baker president/executive director

by | Jan 6, 2014 | Hall of Fame

David Baker today began his role as the president and executive director of the Pro Football

Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame.

Baker has a 35-year background in business management, professional sports and public service, according to a statement at the Hall of Fame’s website.

For the last four years, Baker has worked as a partner in Union Village LLC, the largest healthcare project in the U.S. creating thousands of jobs in Henderson, Nevada, according to the statement. He also previously was commissioner of the Arena Football League for 12 years during which the league saw growth in attendance, television ratings, corporate sponsorships, merchandise sales, revenue and profitability.

He replaces Stephen Perry, who announced in September that he would retire. Perry took the position in 2006.

Baker is the sixth Hall of Fame director. His son, Sam Baker, is an offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons. He arrives as Hall of Fame voters are preparing to announce finalists for the 2014 Hall of Fame induction class. It will be announced at 8 p.m. central Thursday on NFL Network.