I just want to share this picture with you

Those two people (the boy with his shirt off and the girl who looks like she did something really evil) would be my cousins. We had quite the night at Pink Taco last week for my Aunt's birthday party. I of course watched the Dodgers lose to the Pirates but at the same time was enjoying myself with my wonderful family.

I know I sound like a broken record but it doesn't look like the Dodgers are making it out of the first round of the playoffs. They have lost three in a row to arguably two of the worst teams in baseball right now. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Don't most teams have the best luck in the baseball playoffs if they are 'hot' in October? Just saying.

Food sounds really good right now

So the Dodgers are trying to clinch the NL west right now and are having a really rough time against the high and mighty Pittsburgh Pirates. So far this day of atonement is not going great - but I don't think it's really supposed to go my way regardless.

I did ok this weekend in football. I made some terrific picks and not so good ones. I hope everybody listened to what I said and picked completely opposite of my college picks.

That Minnesota/SF game was unbelievable. I had San Fran so I won regardless, but the game was one of the most incredible regular season games I have ever seen. Rookie of the year (behind Sanchez) should be Percy Harvin. He is such a great addition to that team. Also watching Brett, I don't know why he contemplated retiring. He was throwing bullets - but we will see what those bullets are like towards the end of the season. They might turn into nerf bullets. I felt so bad for the 49ers but they proved that they are a legit team this year. They are going to do well. The chemistry that the team has is beyond amazing.

What wasn't amazing was Jamarcus. I did pick the Broncos so I'm a little ok with the loss, but I really have no idea what the Raiders should do from here. Nor do I think they can do anything because of our ownership. I'm officially throwing in the towel with them.

That's all I got for you right now, as I'm going to go back to starving myself.

Happy Yom Kippur! In a round about way.

I got totally picked on for writing about the WNBA. I was hoping the fact that I had a girl crush on another girl might intrigue people but when you think about it, Diana is probably a man and I'm back to being a simple heterosexual.

I'm about to embark on a pretty crazy weekend. Not only is it a week before my brother's wedding but I'm also looking forward to starving myself from sundown Sunday to sundown Monday - NOT. I'm going to be a good Jew though and attempt to go to temple, with my bookie. I'm going to pray real hard to release all the bad sins in me only to build up some new ones.

Onto my picks:

I'm almost giving up on college because of my horrible track record this year but I'm just going to pick Cal to cover the 7 points just to throw some college into the mix. I also wouldn't hesitate to pick the Tigers against Miss. State. Mississippi is probably the only team in the SEC that may not put up a good fight. But hey, if you're listening to me, I would pick the opposite of my college picks. You'll be rich.

As far as pro goes, I'm still trying to get over my Cincy pick. I'm over it:

Ravens -13.5 vs Browns - The Ravens are the best team in football, the Browns aren't.

Rams +7 over Packers - I still hate the Packers for F**king me over last week. They are going down (and by that I mean they are not covering the spread).

Giants -7 @ Bucs: Giants are a great road team. They proved that last week.

Lions +6.5 over Redskins: Redskins almost lost to the Rams. With a home team advantage for the Lions (and by home team I mean a few thousand fans) the Lions have a great chance of an upset.

Eagles -8.5 over Chiefs: The Eagles are all banged up but the Chiefs just plain suck. This will be a good practice for Vick which by the way, I have a feeling Vick probably dreamed of a 'best case scenario' while stuck in jail, and he's about to live it.

Saints -6 over Bills: Drew is just that good.

Flacons +4 over Patriots: A very amazing espn writer, Bill Simmons noted in his article that the only remaining 2004 players from the Patriots team are Brady, Dan Koppen, Kevin Faulk, Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork. Belichick is a great coach, but I don't think he's probably in the best shape to get out on that field and help to the full extent.

Titans +2.5 over Jets: Titans are in a must win situation. Best type of situation for gamblers.

Niners +7 over Vikings: That's a lot of points for a tremendous Bay Area team. I can understand giving those points to the other not so great Bay Area team.

Texans -3.5 over Jags: Jags are bad.

Bears -2 over Seahawks: Hasselbeck is out and the Bears will eat the birds - literally. Haven't you ever watched the Discover Channel? Or is that fish that they eat?

Bengals +4 over Steelers: Not going to make that mistake again.

Broncos -1.5 over Raiders: I hate this game. I thought about going to this game but I didn't want my Yom Kippur to start off on a bad foot. Denver continues to surprise us and Fat Ass keeps making it easy for everyone to make fun of him.

Dolphins +6 over Chargers: Dolphins are going to play it safe and cover the spread.

Colts +1.5 over Cards: Manning is a fantastic player and Warner is an old player.

Panthers +9 over Cowboys: That's a lot of points. Dogs have been covering this year.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Sparks one loss away from being eliminated

I was so wrapped up in the WNBA game I was attending that I completely overlooked the fact that the Dodgers lost 5-4 to the Nationals. Last I checked it was 2-0 and Billingsley was pitching a no-hitter. Well, I guess that didn't go as well as originally planned. And neither did the Sparks game.

Yes, I attended a WNBA game and it was, well, a WNBA game. It was game 1 of the Western Conference Finals (series is first to two wins). The game was moved to the Pauly Pavilion on the UCLA campus because Staple Center was being used by Brittany Spears. It was a great 5 minute drive home for me so I wasn't complaining. But my aunt and grandmother were and it wasn't about the drive.

Everything about that game started off on the wrong foot. Not only was the change of venue all off but so were the Sparks. I actually got into the game. I mean I'm always going to root for an LA sports team regardless of the sports they play (except for anything USC). The girls just couldn't get it together. They looked tired, lazy and weren't playing smart. The all mighty Lisa Leslie is old and cranky. She blamed everybody but herself for mistakes she made. Maybe this is another Kobe/Shaq thing in the making but she needed to let Candace Parker take the reigns on this one. Candace is a stud-ess and my god, she looks fantastic for just having a child. Lisa just didn't have it in her. And dare I say, it's a little weird to put make-up on before you go play a basketball game.

One person I was infatuated with and I don't know if this is a crush or what but Diana Taurasi is my new favorite female athlete. She's fantastic at basketball, she doesn't shoot like a 'girl', throws every part of her heart into the game, and makes everyone around her better. I actually think she's pretty cute as well. Her shoulders aren't so broad anymore. She's this little skinny minny and has developed quite the body. And let's not forget about her recent DUI. She likes to have a good time apparently.

Just when I started liking USC......

Sorry everybody (well sorry to my one reader) for the delay. There are a ton of things going on in my life right now - let's start with my brother getting married next Friday. That date seriously crept up on everybody so fast and now we are running all over the place like lunatics trying to nail down all the details. Then a few days after that wedding, I'm headed to Louisiana to visit my family AND attend the Florida/LSU football game. I'm so excited I can't even tell you. I'll have some great pictures from that trip to share - and by great I mean drunken, up to no good memories from that weekend.

Let's just start with college football and give you a little back story to why I'm thrilled with what happened this weekend. It was the day of the OSU/USC game. We went over to a good friend of mines to enjoy the game and some great company. I just want to say this now, my husband and I showed up wanting a win for the Trojans. The Trojans were a better team, I had money on them, and the whole thing between LSU and USC sharing a championship was in the past. Well, this d**khead had to run his mouth to my husband giving his speech about how the SEC is more like a Division II conference. That almost led his ass to getting thrown through the house window - and I'm not joking about that.

It is people like that who make me despise USC so much (and also getting rejected from that school 3 times). Turns out this guy likes to talk a lot of s**t to the point where he gets punched in the face and then sues for big money. If that guy isn't a douche bag then I don't know what is.

So a week later, USC is at Washington and well, we know the outcome. But what makes this super sweet is that this so called Division II conference team flew across the country and beat Washington while the high and mighty USC Trojans came up short. What a fantastic day that was and became a little richer because of it.

As far as pro football goes, the weekend was a huge let down. I did great in most of my picks - winning for the weekend. But I picked the Bengals as my team to lose and before I knew it, 120k down the drain. I'm still kicking myself because I picked 10 other games and they were all the right picks. But this one game just took it to me. So in other words, I'm going to have to make it up another way - through the good ol' bookie. I know, this is a bad goal to set.

As far as my Raiders go, their defense won - ultimately ending up in a Raider win. If I could pick up Jamarcus and throw him through a window I would. But I don't think I will even be able to pick up his pinkie toe. Colin brought up a great point on his radio show. A man that size has gone through high school and college football probably not having to put too much extra effort into his work. Everything came pretty easy to him throughout those years. Now he is trying to apply that same work ethic into his experience in the pro's and it's not working out. The men he's up against just as strong as he is and at the same time put a ton more effort into every single play. Jamarcus is still running on 'oh I don't have to do anything extra to improve my game because my size will just take over'. Nah ah. He better start working hard if he wants to last another season in football. The Raiders were lucky to win that game.

Getting you ready for the weekend

We have quite the weekend. Not only is it another amazing day for college and pro football but more importantly, it is the Jewish New Year! So Happy New Year everyone! While we are drinking wine and eating a ton of traditional Jewish food, the good news is that the college and pro football games will be playing in the background. Over/under is 5 for the amount of times my grandma/mom/aunt/anyone tells me to turn off the tv.

Last year this time when you went through the schedule for the 2009 USC season, the USC/Washington game didn't seem very interesting. But with the way Washington played against LSU (I'll admit they almost had them won and lost my money because of it) and the questions SC has coming into this weekend, this is going to be a game. USC @ -19, that's a bit much.

Random bet, pick Cal -14 and Florida to rip Lane Kiffin's panzy ass head off (-27).

Onto pro. I had a great Sunday last week, not so great Monday. The time for you to take advantage of Vegas has come and gone and it's officially an uphill battle with the lines:

Carolina +7 over Atlanta: I feel bad for Jakey Poo. Atlanta to me is a sucker bet.

Texans +6.5 over Titans: According to a good friend of mine, those games are always close. According to my favorite radio stud, that game won't be close. Since my first thought was Titans I'm going with the Texans.

Giants +3 over the Cowboys: I read that the players go through a bar before they go to the field. Cowboys will stop in the bar, the Giants will continue their amazing road play.

Vikings -9.5 over Detroit: Two words, Adrian Peterson. That guy is insane.

Packers - 9.5 over Bengals: I like to see the Bengals destruct.

Raiders +3 over Chiefs: Not only am I betting with my heart but I really think the Raiders are going to win this one. It's always a close series regardless but silver and black are going to win. I don't want to throw in the towel with them. I want to think that the game vs the Cowboys is going to be worth the trip.

Saints over Eagles: I know they played the 'haven't won in a long time' Detroit team last week and killed them but their offense is just incredible. And the Philly offense is all bandaged up.

Rams +10 over Redskins: I was reminded before I picked the Rams in my suicide bet that this game screwed over a ton of people last year.

Jets +4 over Patriots: I have faith Sanchez will be the Sanchez from last week.

Bucs +5 over Bills: That's a lot of points to give to two teams where you have no clue how good/bad they are. The games last week didn't really help me come to any conclusions. This will be close.

Jags -3.5 over Cardinals: The Cardinals are going to the east coast.

49ers -1.5 over Seahawks: This is going to be a rough, physical game. I loved the Seahawks last week but they are in San Francisco this week. They don't have that loud crowd behind them.

Steelers -3 over Bears: Cutler won't be as bad as last week but the Steelers do have an amazing defense (even without Troy). Steelers are my superbowl team and I'm sticking to it. They are just going to have to figure out some way to move the ball against another amazing defense.

Ravens +3.5 over Chargers: Chargers looked bad last week against my Raiders and the Ravens offense is considerably better than last year.

Broncos -3.5 over Browns: Browns are pitiful.

Colts -3.5 vs Dolphins: Did you see the way the Dolphins moved the ball last week? Neither did I.

Let's cross our fingers and have a great weekend.

Don't forget about baseball. Big rival series between the Dodgers and Giants.

Don't leave the game early

In case anybody is wondering, I did stay till the end of the game last night. 5 Games up on Colorado. Looking good. Looking good. Well, except for Manny who went 0 for 13 innings.

Dodgers release their 2010 schedule

Dodgers just released their 2010 schedule and MLB finally got it right. The Yankees will be visiting the Dodgers June 25-27 and Manny will be headed to his old stomping ground June 18-20. That should be pretty intense.

Let's get through the 2009 season first, shall we?

My couch really liked me this weekend

Whoa, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the last few days. The only good thing about having food poisoning all weekend was that there was plenty to watch while I was stuck on the couch. College football was of course incredibly exciting. My picks were dreadful but I can still appreciate some very close, intense games. The Buckeyes had that game won. Tressel did such a great job containing SCs offense but when it mattered, he blew it. The way you win those games is you take risks. You don't have to do it all game but you have to do it when it's 4th down, you're somewhat in field goal range and range of a do-able 1st down. You've GOT to go for it. UCLA also proved to be a tough little group from Westwood.

Now, onto pro. I was counting down the days till the start of college football all summer but I couldn't have been more excited to enjoy a Sunday of football. Few observations:

1) Mike Singletary might be my favorite coach in the NFL. Along with his long wooden cross he wears around his neck, he also wears his field pass. Does he think he's going to get kicked off the field? I wouldn't cross him. He's just that guy that comes extra prepared. He also coached a great game on Sunday and has created quite the defense.

2) Seattle looked fantastic. They have all the weapons in the world on offense and their defense ain't too shabby. My only concern is when push comes to shove, I think Hasselbeck will throw an interception in the NFC Championship game, 3rd and goal with about 2 minutes left until Miami. This Seattle team reminds me a bit of the Rich Gannon's Raiders back in 2002.

3) Is anyone else a little bewildered at the fact the Ravens went for it on 4th and goal with thirty seconds left of the game, leading by a touchdown? They could have sealed the deal with a field goal but they went for it and took a 14 point lead against the Chiefs. Did they know that the point spread was more than 10 or something? That was very strange but at the same time, I'M STOKED!

4) My Raiders......oh so close yet so far. Fat ass QB got a 5 out of 10 rating from me. He made some great passes but at the same time threw 10 feet over the receivers head. That 4th and 15 pass was absolutely spotless. Unfortunately Rivers is just that good and took his offense up the field like it was nothing - in a matter of a minute. Only thing I have to say about our defense is we gave Sproles too much room to run. Don't give that little man that much room! Onto the Chiefs next week.

This time last year I was already throwing in the towel. Not happening quite yet. There were signs of life - unlike Al Davis' face.

Welcome to the NFL

Today is the day. The men of the most barbaric sport in the world take the field on their journey through rough terrain to South Florida where they will compete for the 2010 Super Bowl Title. The season starts off with a bang. Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Tennessee Titans. Well, according to me, this isn't a bang. The minute Lendale White took that yellow towel and stomped on it was the minute Pittsburgh was going to rip their heads off and stick it on a stick come September 10th 2008. Kerry Collins isn't getting any younger and I think the noise from the Steelers crowd is going to give him a headache - oh and so will the Steelers Defense (I also have the Steelers as my Super Bowl Team).

This coming weekend is so fun filled. Not only are the Dodgers in a neck and neck race for the 1 spot in the NL West (not my first choice for them but I can always appreciate a good end of baseball regular season) but we have a great college schedule on Saturday - USC/OSU included and the first Sunday of NFL Football. And to top it all off we are celebrating my favorite husbands 31st birthday party. This weekend is action overload and will be needing bloody mary's at my side at all times.

My NFL Picks for the week:

Atlanta -4 vs Miami - Miami ain't winning as many games as they did last year let alone making it to the off season. I don't think ATL was a fluke either. My pick: Atlanta.

Baltimore -12.5 vs KC - No brainer.

Philly -2 @ Carolina - How old is Delhomme? He's going to throw 5 picks.

Cinn -4 @ Denver - An inside source says Denver is still a mess yet a quality espn analyst has them as their surprise team. One team will make it out of the hole and since I despise Denver as a true Raider fan, I like Denver in this game :)

Minnesota -4 @ Cleveland - Welcome back you little bitch. Fresh old arms for the first game, go Minnesota.

Houston -5 vs Jets - Are you really going to believe all the hype with the Texans? go Jets.

Indy -7 vs Jacksonville - Indy is going to get to a slow start. I know Jacksonville has made zero improvements but 7 is a lot of points for a team with a brand new coaching staff and an unhappy QB.

NO -13 vs Detroit - Will be a 13 point spread at halftime.

Dallas -6 @ TB - Go with Dallas. They've got something to prove this year and TB doesn't have anything so they can't prove anything.

SF +7 @ Arizona - Take SF. SF is going to play them close.

Giants -6.5 vs Redskins - Always a close game.

Seattle will cover against St. Louis, Chicago will beat GB and NE will man handle Buffalo (not a good sign when someone in the coaching staff is fired the week of the start of the football season).

And now to my beloved Raiders vs Chargers game. I wouldn't call it a game. I would call it a moment for the Raider fans to dress up like freaks, get into knife fights, get as drunk as they possibly can (be extra drunk bc it's a Monday night) and walk out of that stadium 35-10 losers. I would be scared too Mr. Seymour.

Don't watch the Dodger Games

This is what happens when I don't watch the Dodger game. With two 2 outs, top of the 8th, man on first, down 4-1, and 5 double plays to count for, they rally to take a 5-4 lead. I was at dinner celebrating my hubby's birthday and checked the score when they were down 4-1 and the Rockies had already won their game. I thought 'great, 2.5 games back now' because the second from last place team in our division is man-handling us.

Thank god for Pierre's speed he was able to avoid a 6th double play and it was the start of a 4 run rally with the help of Ethier, Furcal, Kemp and Belliard. This was our first back to back win in a week. Fantastic! This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside knowing we will barely finish first and start off the playoffs by playing the Cardinals. With the way we have been playing since all star break, I have all the faith in the world that the Cardinals will get their brooms out for us.

On another note, I am trying to make my pick for the superbowl this year and having a very difficult time. It's between Pitts, SD, NE, and Philly. As stated before, Pitts has a very easy schedule along with the Chargers. Never liked Norv Turner nor am I going to start now just because the Chargers are in the weakest division EVER thanks to my beloved Raiders. He's just a coach out of left field but at the same time if there is ever a year that the Chargers are going to win the SuperBowl, this is it. They've got the team to do it and LT is highly underrated. Philly can't make it past the NFC Championships and NE is coming off of a sans Brady year. Who knows what that guy will bring for the 2009 season?

So much to catch up on

What a weekend of sports. The only disappointing thing about it was that come Sunday morning I couldn't watch Pro football. I know I can't have it all but it went from a great high to a real low - hangover included thanks to Jack and Marci's wonderful wedding. Have no fear though, I used the day to bite the dog that bit me.

Mark my word (and I know I said Texas was winning the championship this year) but I legitimately think that USC is going to play Florida for the national title. This Pac-10/SEC match-up is long overdue. SC is the type of team that gets better as the season progresses and for the last few seasons they have ended just short of being in the title game because of a stupid loss during the season. It may happen this year but I can almost promise they are going to finish the season probably one of the top football programs in the nation. Yes, Pete played it very safe with the true Freshman and he needs to play in a faster paced game, but their backs are all top quality and they have enough weapons to put everything together and have a close-to-pro team. Let's not forget their defense. The beginning of the game everybody had such high nerves going but did anyone recognize how fast that defense was? They pretty much almost took the heads off of San Jose St. I give a lot a credit to San Jose's QB for getting that ball out of his hands so fast in the 1st quarter but it eventually caught up with him. I turned the game off at the half and went over to the Georgia game.

Florida and Texas also dominated this weekend and Oklahoma went down in flames. Bradford came back for his senior year to deal with this? Bad break.

I liked Notre Dame's defense a lot and BYU and Cal are forces to be reckoned with. USC @ CAl and USC @ ND are going to be quite the games. My radio boyfriend Colin Cowherd thinks that Ohio State is going to give USC a run for their money but I highly doubt it. I saw what I needed to see this weekend and with USC @ -7, I take the Trojans. My picks were a disaster this week but the first week of football is always tough. Make no mistake I'm going to be on point from now on.

Watching football all weekend gave me a nice break to the Dodgers inconsistency's. They are driving me up the wall. Who knew the Padres and the DBacks were such a tough team?!?!?!? The Dodgers are making those teams look as if they are in the pennant race. 3.5 up from the Rockies.....AGAIN. Win one, lose one, win one, lose one. Get it together.

Welcome to college football

You know when you talk something up so much that by the time it happens, it's not so great? Well that was me with the football games last night. I was so pumped up about college football and unfortunately I got one game with a 7-3 final score and the other game with almost more turnovers than points. Let's not forget that my predictions were off as well. I didn't do my research. I find out after the South Carolina game that Spurrier is 19-1 in home openers. I should have known that shit. What a rough one......

The only good thing about last night was that the Dodgers won. You remember how two years ago the Padres were known as the Dodger killers? Well this year the Dbacks take that title. We have lost the last two series to them and let me remind everyone, they are in last place in our division. The only good thing about winning last night to the pitiful Diamondbacks was that Colorado lost last night to those unlucky bastards of a team - Mets. Up 5 1/2 games.

Less than an Hour!

This just in (and according to sportsillustrated.com):

Forbes magazine, famous for its rich lists, just came out with its evaluations of the 32 NFL teams. No surprise, Jerry Jones' Dallas Cowboys tops the list with a current value of $1.65 billion. Only two NFL teams are unprofitable: the Seattle Seahawks, who lost $2.4 million, and the biggest loser of them all, the Oakland Raiders. Al Davis' once wondrous franchise is now the least valuable NFL club at a "mere" $797 million, plus the Raiders had the biggest operating loss in the league at $5.7 million.

But onto more important things, college football is less than an hour away people. Time to get serious. But before I go into my picks let's just remind everyone of how funny of a start this college football season has gotton off to:

- Rich Rod breaking down into tears at his press conference
- Billboard placed up in South Bend reads "Best wishes to Charlie Weis in the fifth year of his college coaching internship."
- Lane Kiffen bringing the drama to the SEC

Here are my picks for tonight:

South Carolina @ NC State: NC State (NC State has a good thing going for them this year and the cocks are all messed up at the QB position).

Oregon @ Boise State: This is a tough one. Boise state has the best home record in college football. If Oregon is able to pull this out it's going to be HUGE for the PAC 10. With Boise St. @ -3 I think I'm going to be pulling for the PAC 10 tonight. I'm feeling a great game tonight and a great start to college football.

I bet Kurt Rambis didn't think this was going to happen

So one of the top prospects that Kurt Rambis was banking on for the 2009-2010 NBA season will no longer be a top prospect. In fact he will not be a part of the NBA next season or even few seasons to come. According to the 19 year old brain surgeon Ricky Rubio, this move is too risky. He is in fact, correct. Kurt Rambis is going to be the coach. Enough said. When push came to shove last year and Phil couldn't make it to a game or ten, Rambis didn't step of to the plate. Now he's going to be up in Minnesota without his support team of coaches, family and friends. And the Timberwolves staff wonders why this kid doesn't want to leave SPAIN and play in Minneapolis?

So sorry for jumping right into it but I was listening to this story this morning and just laughing my ass off. It's been a while since I have been able to blog as I've been MIA for the past 5 days. As noted in my previous entry I was able to attend a Yankee's game and it was great. We had amazing seats - second row behind home plate (hence the picture I left for everyone and thank you to Uncle Modell) and it felt right at home as Jack Nicholson and Paul McCartney sat in the seats right in front of me. Yankees went onto win and we went onto the Hamptons. My vacation was fully loaded only to come back to the start of the college football season.

In a blink of an eye, college football is a little more than 24 hours away and I'm besides myself. When it was April I knew this was going to be a long summer but now that we are in the second day of September and a day away from kick off I don't know what to do with myself. It's really here and these are my predictions:

BCS Champion: I'd like to say Florida because everyone else has. So I'm going to go with Texas. Let's also talk after the home opener of USC. I really gotta see these guys play. I'll have an answer before the Ohio game.
Surprise teams: Notre Dame, Stanford, Cal, Ol Miss (even though that won't be too much of a surprise)
Surprise teams from the heart: LSU, Arizona
Upset: LSU defeats Florida, Ohio State defeats USC (pending)

And in conclusion, Andre Smith got what he deserved by holding out - fractured foot, out a couple of weeks.