Category: Featured

Champions League Round of 16 Draw

The Champions League draw was today for the remaining 16 teams that qualified in the group stages. Five of those being English teams left us a slim possibility for matchups but there were still some very good draws. Let’s take a look at the draw:

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Some big-time match-ups no doubt. We’re going to highlight the top 3 games to watch.

Image result for juventus tottenhamJuventus vs Tottenham

What an awful draw for group winners Tottenham. Tottenham topped their group, which contained defending champions Real Madrid and a strong Dortmund side. The Spurs have looked excellent in their Champions League campaign despite being dreadful in their domestic league. I like Juventus to win here but it’ll no doubt be a close tie. I think Tottenham is stronger than most of the teams in the draw but I like Juventus to outclass them here as they have a bit more experience in the knockout stages. The Spurs clock in at an average age of 25.7 while Juventus is at 28.8.  Fun fact of this draw? Juventus has been eliminated in the last FIVE times they’ve matched up with an English team.

real-madrid-psg-live-stream-1446529120-800Real Madrid vs PSG

Congrats to PSG for topping their group in record-scoring fashion! Bayern Munich was surely a tough opponent and they completely outclassed them. Munich gets Besiktas in the next round. PSG’s reward you ask? The reigning player of the year and the reigning champions of the year, Real Madrid. Madrid has not looked to be the “Galaticos” of the past but it is hard to count them out at any given moment — especially on the big stage. PSG has been coasting through their league with their new addition — just a guy called Neymar. This is a great measuring tool for PSG to definitively put them in the contenders category. I think PSG is a great squad but I can’t see Ronaldo and Real Madrid being knocked out in the first round of the knockout stages. Give me Real Madrid in a tough one win aggregate series.

 

1789025_w2Chelsea vs Barcelona

Oh how we’ve missed this tie. Chelsea and Barcelona have met 6 times in the Champions League, second only to Madrid-Munich. Chelsea haven’t been as sharp as their league winning campaign last year, and Barcelona has been extremely impressive this year even after the loss of Neymar. Lionel Messi, however, has historically struggled against Chelsea logging 29 shots in 8 games against the club without a single goal. The last time these two teams met, Chelsea drew 2-2 at Camp Nou to send them into the finals (which ultimately they won). It’s going to take a lot of grit but give me Chelsea in a first round upset special. Look for them to be physical with Barcelona and grind out a low-scoring tie.

 

Week 14 Picks

Another fairly chalk week in Week 13 as three of the writers had 12 win weeks. This week has a lot of 50-50 games however, as we see the smallest number of consensus picks all season. With the NFC as wide open as it is, big games between the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams, and the Vikings – Panthers will prove to be very important to seeding and home-field advantage. The Sunday night showdown between bitter rivals will also prove to be an important match-up. Let’s take a look at the picks.

 

CONSENSUS: 69-19 (LW: 8-0)

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CONSENSUS PICKS:  CIN, GB, LAC, NE

 

Week 13 Picks

Office Chatter Episode 6

In the sixth installment of our title podcast, we discuss the newfound fact that the NFL is violent. We touch upon the big stories in Week 14, including JuJu’s & Gronk’s hit, the return of everybody’s favorite sober WR, and if Case Keenum has done enough to prove himself. The gang (minus one) also discusses the breaking news of Rafael Palmeiro wanting to attempt a comeback and Ohtani doing whatever he wants. We touch on the upcoming winter olympics and how some of us think it’s a waste of time. Last, we finish out with our “Jackass of the Week.”

ITUNES LINK — SUBSCRIBE HERE

Last Week’s Episode

Cleveland Browns Relieve Director of Player Personnel (GM), Sashi Brown.

Image result for Sashi Brown Jimmy Haslam

There it is Browns fans!  We are officially in Step 1 of the Bi-annual firing spree in Berea, Ohio.  The move comes with very little surprise.  Sashi Brown was the architect of a 1-27 football team.  Something had to give sooner or later.  Hue seems to have lobbied his way to winning the power struggle between the front office and coaches.    Hue’s main gripe was that the Front Office did not provide him with the players needed to win.  I couldn’t disagree more.

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In the end, I think the quarterback position was Sashi’s eventual downfall.  They piddled around hoping that lower value picks (Kessler, Kizer) would boom big.  Neither are a total bust, as both have shown that they could play in the right situation.  The kicker is Wentz, Goff, and Watson.  At some point in the last two drafts, Sashi had a chance to pick any of those three.  Goff doesn’t technically count, as the Rams traded up to #1 overall to take him.  There is no excuse for the others.  They did not believe Wentz was a top 20 quarterback.  He will likely be an MVP finalist this year.  They didn’t love the lack of arm strength in Deshaun Watson.  If Watson stays healthy, I have little doubt he would be the Offensive Rookie of the Year in the AFC.

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Personally, I have the gut feeling that they are cutting the chord too early.  Sashi had some blunders in his two years at the helm that’s for damn sure.  He let Taylor Gabriel walk, he let Mitchell Schwartz walk, he let Tashaun Gipson walk, he cut Joe Haden, and many more.  All of those pieces would help this team drastically (minus Haden).  Sashi traded veteran linebacker Demario Davis to the Jets for Safety Calvin Pryor.  Pryor is currently on the Jaguars practice squad, while Davis is playing every snap on defense for the Jets.  There are some obvious blunders which any executive will make.  Even with those blunders,Sashi did well in his short time heading the talent acquisition department.

I just think this was not the solution to the problem.  If anyone should have been fired it was Hue.  Sashi has put the organization in a spot to succeed.  He built up draft capital to an absurd degree.  The Browns will have 5 seasons worth of drafts in the next three drafts.  Not to mention the boat load of young players already picked.  The team is young, raw, and inexperienced.  But, they 100% should be able to win some games.  They aren’t being coached properly, and it shows week to week.   The public discord  between the two sides obviously took a tole on the team as well.   Two weeks ago in Cincinnati a picture was taken that sealed the nail in Sashi’s coffin.  Haslam and Hue swapping spit with A.J. McCarron, after the failed trade.

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On to the new regime!  Dilly Dilly!!

Cristiano Ronaldo wins Ballon d’Or 2017

Another year, another Ballon d’Or for the best player in soccer (yes — he plays for Madrid NOT Barcelona). This is his fifth time winning the award gifted to the best player in the world, tying him with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (who blew a 4-1 lead in trophies, no big deal). The lifelong debate of who is better is always fun and there is no clear cut evidence but the dominance by the two of these players is unheralded. Take a look at the last 10 winners of the Ballon d’Or.

  • 2008: 1st, Cristiano Ronaldo(Manchester United)
  • 2009: 1st, Lionel Messi(Barcelona)
  • 2010: 2nd, Lionel Messi(Barcelona)
  • 2011: 3rd, Lionel Messi(Barcelona)
  • 2012: 4th, Lionel Messi(Barcelona)
  • 2013: 2nd, Cristiano Ronaldo(Real Madrid)
  • 2014: 3rd, Cristiano Ronaldo(Real Madrid)
  • 2015: 5th, Lionel Messi(Barcelona)
  • 2016: 4th, Cristiano Ronaldo(Real Madrid)
  • 2017: 5th, Cristiano Ronaldo(Real Madrid)

 

Absolutely insane — of course the younger generation (including Neymar) are finally starting to catch up skill wise, but enough can’t be said about these two players. 16% of the Ballon d’Or  awards have gone to these two players. Incredible. Cristiano had a great season last year — leading Madrid to their first La Liga title in 5 years and a third Champions League trophy in four years. Ronaldo scored twice in the final against Juventus en route to a 4-1 victory.

Messi and Neymar rounded out the top 3.

Top Fantasy Performers of Week 13

Week 13 provided us yet another disappointing NFL weekend. It was the classic blowout, blowout, blowout, close game, blowout weekend that provides almost no entertainment. With that said, there were some impressive performances by a few individuals that deserve some recognition.

The top 2 QBs this week were Alex Smith and Josh McCown.

Alex Smith was a stud this week, he put up big numbers through the air and on the ground. He threw for 366 yards, 4 TD’s and added a rush for 70 yards. The top fantasy player of the week put up 45 points.

Josh McCown was brilliant on Sunday, matching Alex Smith touchdown for touchdown. He threw for 331 yards and 1 TD as well as rushing for 2 TD’s. This was one of his best games of the season and ended up with 32 points.

The top 2 RBs this week were Alvin Kamara and Le’Veon Bell.

Alvin Kamara was a top performer last week and most likely will be a top performer for the rest of the season. The do-it-all back rushed 9 times for 60 yards, 2 TD’s and caught 5 of 6 balls for 66 yards. He averaged 29 points across most leagues.

Le’Veon Bell played well in Mondays ugly game, he rushed 18 times for 76 yards and caught 5 of 6 balls for 106 yards and a TD. The TD was bogus considering the defender gave up on the play,  but nevertheless it counted.

The top 2 WRs this week were Tyreek Hill and Nelson Agholor.

Tyreek Hill was putting up big numbers as usual, running right by his defenders. He caught 6 of 9 passes for 185 yards and 2 TD’s. He ended up with 36 points.

Nelson Agholor had an impressive week, too bad the rest of the Eagles could put up these type of numbers. He caught 7 of 12 balls for 141 yards and a TD. He ended up with 27 points.

The top 2 TEs this week were Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski.

Kelce started the game off with a bang with a long touchdown, but didn’t do much after that. He ended he game with 4 catches, 94 yards and 2 TD’s. He led all tight-ends with 25 points.

Gronk had a near perfect game minus the huge bonehead play at the end of the game that got him suspended. Although he didn’t score a touchdown, he dominated the Bills up and down the field. He finished the game catching 9 of 11 passes for 147 yards. He ended up with 23 points.

Why the Steelers – Bengals Game Was Good for Football

The Steelers faced off against the Bengals in an AFC North showdown last night on Monday night. Amidst a devastating injury to Ryan Shazier (who since seems to be doing better in the hospital still), we had this fake outrage from people who don’t realize football is violent. The AFC North games are always physical games — these teams hate each other. The NY Post even went as far to say that the game was a “violent mess and terrible for the NFL.” Troy Aikman even went to twitter to air out his thoughts.

Football is supposed to be violent — people are going to get hit, it happens. This isn’t flag football and the fact that people are suddenly outraged at a late season Bengals-Steelers game is outrageous. Especially considering this one wasn’t even as bad as past ones (see: Burfict hit on Antonio Brown in playoffs).  The Shazier hit, although bad, was a completely legal play and there was nothing wrong with it. Sure — it was devastating and the whole NFL community and every fan wishes nothing but the best for him, the notion that the players on the field would tone down the physicality is absurd.

Let’s talk the JuJu hit first — to put it bluntly, it was an absolutely brutal hit. JuJu knew exactly what he was doing and honestly this was karma for Burfict. He led with his shoulder and did get some helmet contact but it looks as if that wasn’t intended.  A little dirty — yes, just because Burfict wasn’t looking in his direction. The staredown, obviously not very sportsmanlike, was a wild move. To be honest, I loved it. Smith-Schuster knew he was going to be penalized for it and most likely a fine but we’ve seen blocks just as bad as that before. He wanted to make a statement — and he did.

That being said, I don’t think he should be anywhere near Burfict when the two teams meet again but Burfict may actually kill him on the field — but this is the type of action football fans want to see. We don’t want to hear Jon Gruden and Sean McDonough complaining about how this is awful for football, because it’s not.

These two teams absolutely hate each other and I think it’s great. I know a good chunk of the NFL are friends but sometimes it’s fun to watch two teams go out there and try to completely out-muscle the other team. Obviously things happen when that’s the case and things can get out of hand.

Obviously a brutal hit on Antonio Brown from George Iloka — he led with his head and clearly made contact. He was flagged immediately and Brown caught the TD, shook off the hit and came right back in on the next drive. Problem solved. Fine Iloka and move on — as Roethlisberger said, “this is AFC North football.”

The suspensions rained down today, with JuJu and Iloka both getting 1 game. Both were flagged and both should have only been fined. A suspension is a little outrageous — nothing happened after the plays. Sure, JuJu taunted Burfict but to suspend them a game is a little much of a reach. The NFL saw the public pressure and panicked as once again there isn’t any sort of precedent on these issues. This game was great to watch from a neutral perspective and the NFL knows that — watch them to schedule this for primetime again next year.

0 and Whatever. Week Who Cares?

Image result for Browns Chargers 2017

Going to be a short one this week, as I wasn’t able to catch the whole game.  The Browns lost again this week.   Cleveland traveled to Los Angeles for their scheduled loss.  Last season on Christmas Eve, the Browns managed to shit out a win against the Chargers.  They were not as lucky this year.

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There really isn’t much to write about when it comes to this game, but I will reluctantly give you an update as best I can.  The Browns defense certainly came to play on Sunday, as they held the Chargers to 0 first quarter points.  The Chargers added two field goals in the second quarter to make it 6-0.

The Browns rallied, and Kizer lead a 65 yard touchdown drive in 5 plays.  David Njoku caught a 28 yard pass for the score.  Hey!  A lead!  With the extra-point, the Browns lead 7-6.  It did not last long, as Philip Rivers lead an 11 play drive into field goal range.  Ex-Brown Travis Coons hit a 22 yard field goal to help the Chargers re-gain a 9-7 lead.

Image result for David Njoku Chargers

The second half was a snoozer.  Keenan Allen caught a 7 yard touchdown pass, and Travis Coons added another field goal to make it 19-7.  The Browns could only muster another field goal.  The game ended with the limp dick score of 19-10.

 

5 Positives:

  1. Josh Gordon came back and was fantastic.  Josh lead the team with 4 catches for 85 yards.  He wasn’t necessarily dominant, but he looked every bit as good as he was before.  It will take some time to knock the rust off, but he looked fantastic.
  2. Defense is DOMINANT.  They can stop any offense, and due to the lovely 0-12 record nobody really speaks of the Browns defense.  They held a formidable Chargers offense (Melvin Gordon, Keenan Allen, Antonio Gates, Travis Benjamin) to only 19 points.  If there was any pulse on offense they might have a few wins.
  3. Only 4 more weeks until this season is over.
  4. Only 4 more weeks until Hue Jackson is fired.
  5. David Njoku had his best day as a pro.  Having Gordon lead to more open looks for Njoku, and he certainly capitalized.  Njoku was able to haul in the Browns only touchdown pass of the day.

Next week the Browns will welcome Brett Hundley, and the Greenbay Packers to town.  I’d love a thank you in advance from Packer fans.  Looks like my beloved Brownies will be instrumental in keeping their playoff hopes on life support.

 

I am going to end it here with some highlights of Josh Gordon’s 2018 sober debut.  Enjoy!

https://twitter.com/TheFBBible/status/938136402511978496

Office Lock of the Day 12/5

The Spurs didn’t make it easy with such hefty odds at the ML but came through when it mattered with a 96-93 win to bring us to 5-0. The spread was -4.5 so the ML was the better call as the Pistons would have won otherwise. Today, we have a huge slate of Champions League games which brings me to the pick:

Celtic FC (-110) vs Anderlecht

Celtic took the first meeting in Brussels 3-0 and I don’t see this one going much different in Scotland. They return Dembele from injury, who is surely able to help out the offense in this one. Celtic is out after being fortunate enough to be in PSG & Bayern Munich’s group but will look to wrap up a Europa spot tonight. Take the boys in Green at home.

LOTD: 5-0-0 

Week 14 Top 10 Power Rankings

With 3 quarters of the season in the books, the good teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack. We’re going to highlight the top 10 teams and who will be contenders in the playoffs that are fast approaching.

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  1.  New England Patriots (10-2)

The Patriots are back and doing the same thing they always do.  They started off slow and the defense was looking bad — now they can’t lose and opponents have failed to score more than 17 points in 8 straight games. Dion Lewis is back to form and Tom Brady is well…Tom Brady. Hard to see this Patriots team losing in the AFC playoffs.

Image result for minnesota vikings2. Minnesota Vikings (10-2)

The Vikings being in first place in Week 14 after losing both their starting QB and RB is about as improbable as the way Case Keenum is playing but we have arrived here. The Vikings have looked to be unstoppable and slotted in the #1 seed in the NFC after the Eagles’ loss. This team is for real and has the potential to never leave Minnesota during the playoffs — even the Super Bowl.

Image result for philadelphia eagles3. Philadelphia Eagles (10-2)

The Eagles have been beneficiaries of an easy schedule but have came out and took care of business. A road game in Seattle in the month of December is a very difficult but the Eagles got exposed a bit as they were outplayed in every asset of the game. I’m sure this team will bounce back but for now they’re going to have to accept that the playoffs may not run through the Linc.

4. New Orleans Saints (9-3)Image result for new orleans saints

The Saints check in at 4 after an impressive season sweep against Cam Newton and the Panthers. The Saints are firmly in control of their division race but they still have two matchups left with rival Atlanta Falcons. If the Saints win at least one, it’s hard to see them not on top of the NFC South when the dust is settled.

 

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5. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-2) 

The Steelers round out the top 5 after a tough AFC North Monday night game against the Bengals. The Steelers sport the same top record as the top 3 but they have been shaky in recent weeks, barely beating the Bengals, Packers, and Colts. This team does keep winning but the injury to Shazier is a huge blow. The Steelers-Patriots showdown in two weeks will decide home field advantage.

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6. Los Angeles Rams (9-3) 

The Rams clinched their first winning season since 2003 with the win over the Cardinals this weekend. Sean McVay has done a tremendous job turning around this team but it’ll be interesting to see how their offense performs when the playoffs are on the line. This is the same team that was only able to put up 7 on the Vikings.

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7. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4) 

Nobody is scared of Jacksonville’s offense but their defense is scary good. Calais Campbell just broke the franchise sack record .. in week 13. This team is definitely on the rise and probably will not be able to beat the AFC top contenders. Still fun to watch and deserving of the #7 spot.

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8. Seattle Seahawks (8-4) 

Speaking of defenses — the Seahawks check in right behind the Jaguars ahead of a showdown this weekend. The Seahawks, despite huge losses of Sherman and Chancellor are still ball-hawks on defense. Russell Wilson is having a MVP caliber season and they may have found their running back in Mike Davis. Watch out for the Seahawks in January.

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9. Carolina Panthers (8-4) 

The Panthers had a let-down game in which one that they could have made a solid statement in the NFC playoff run. They are however still in prime control of the first wildcard spot and with Cam Newton at the helm — anything can happen. Lack of receiving depth is going to hurt them but the return of Greg Olsen can definitely boost this team to dangerous.

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10. Baltimore Ravens (7-5) 

The Ravens are very quietly having a solid season in Baltimore. The defense has pitched 3 shutouts and made the Lions offense look foolish. The season-ending injury to CB Jimmy Smith definitely hurts but nobody should want to play against Joe Flacco in January. The Ravens have a Sunday night showdown against bitter rival Pittsburgh this week which will say a lot about where they’re at.

 

JUST MISSED: Tennessee Titans (8-4), Atlanta Falcons (7-5), Los Angeles Chargers (6-6)