Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. This year’s wild-card entries in the NFL playoffs were by and large teams that struggled just to get into the postseason. So when all four lost last weekend, by hook and by crook, perhaps justice was done. Getting to the Super Bowl is a survival-of-the-fittest proposition, and it’s a secure feeling knowing that the very best teams have advanced. As for the losers,
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Friday, January 5, 2007
An African American Tragedy
Posted on 5:14 AM by ergeg
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”—Hamlet. ACT I, Scene 4. The body of Darrent Williams will be publically viewed tonight in Fort Worth, the hometown of the Denver Broncos player who was gunned down in Denver early on New Year’s Day. Williams’ funeral will be held January 6 at Great Commission Baptist Church. After a few days’ worth of reflection, it’s no easier to understand why
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Wild Weekend, Wild Finish, and Wild Cards
Posted on 11:22 AM by ergeg
The NFL’s wild regular-season-ending weekend brought a few on-field surprises but also a bounty of ATS (against the spread) picks that clicked for the SMA swami. Chronic underachievers came through for us in fine style, including the Lions (over the Cowboys), the Steelers (over the Bengals), the Panthers (over the Saints), the 49ers (over the Broncos), the Packers (over the Bears), the Dolphins
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
NFL Week 17 ATS: Home Stretch Finds 12 Nags Vying for 4 Wild-Card Berths
Posted on 10:56 AM by ergeg
Twelve teams are out of it altogether. Eight teams are taking home divisional crowns. That leaves 12 remaining wannabes who wanna be in the playoffs as wild-card teams. The NFC is so chock-full of not-very-good football teams that, theoretically, someone (the Giants) could enter the postseason with a record below .500, which is, in a word, pathetic. But even if the conference avoids this
Thursday, December 21, 2006
NFL Week 16 ATS: Anybody’s Ballgame
Posted on 12:17 PM by ergeg
Heading into the penultimate weekend of NFL play, only seven teams are absolutely eliminated from playoff contention. That leaves eight current division leaders (most of them with the top spot locked up) and an unbelievable 17 other teams still harboring a mathematical shot at a wild-card berth. This is the way Pete Rozelle dreamed it up years ago: a system designed to keep interest high right to
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
NFL Week 15 ATS: Road Warriors
Posted on 9:36 AM by ergeg
It’s getting so going 10-6 against the spread has become the desired realistic standard. That’s a .625 percentage, and given how uncertain this handicapping biz can be sometimes, we’ll take it. It’s particularly sweet in a week where almost every single game was a head-scratcher. But the SMA swami got some serious assistance from spread-busting squads like the Giants (over Carolina), the Ravens (
Thursday, December 7, 2006
The Handicapper’s Monopoly Money Guide to the College Bowl Games
Posted on 12:37 PM by ergeg
I only know what the average fan knows about college football. I catch the big games on TV, I listen to what the radio/TV pundits have to say, I keep fairly well informed. But the NFL keeps me busy enough where serious analysis and attention is concerned, so there are things about the college game that pass me by. For example, just how good is this Northern Illinois team that enters the
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