Overall: 39-37
I'm over .500 for the first time; do with that what you will.
I was 3 of 4 picking the opening round of the baseball playoffs (missing on Angels/Sox); my two World Series teams remain, so I'll roll with that and pick a Yankees/Dodgers Series.
The AL is closer than you think - the Yanks are prohibitive favorites to win the whole thing, and they're stronger in every phase than the Angels, but just by a little bit, and a possible unintended consequence of a Yankee strength (plate discipline) can hurt them in a short series (the Twins threw a lot of strikes and the Yanks didn't hit as well as you would have liked). If Lackey/Kazmir can put the ball over the plate, that might suppress the NY attack. Still, you're just creating trouble for yourself if you pick anyone but New York to win the whole thing.
The Cards were favored over the Dodgers - I liked LA because they were the best team in the NL by a solid margin over the course of the whole year and they have power bullpen arms, which has been an excellent predictor of postseason success. I similarly like LA in the series with Philly; it's essentially a pick 'em and I see it as such, but the huge (I mean huge) bullpen disparity is enough to get me to go Dodgers.
I have two blog posts whirling around in my head, it's really only a matter of carving out time (and my health; I've been flu-ish all week; if south Florida collapses under the weight of swine flu I might be patient zero) to get to them. One is about Rush Limbaugh, so I'd better hurry as that story is about to zip its way out of the news cycle, and the other is a comparison between Barack Obama and Vince McMahon; I'm likely to be the only person who will draw that specific connection, so I'm not as afraid of losing out to Dave Zirin on that piece. Also, at the other place, I have to finish the build to Counterfactual Survivor Series 2008 before the end of the month. Oh - and my first of two fantasy hoops drafts is Saturday afternoon.
Let's get to the picks.
Redskins -6 Chiefs (loss)
Bengals -4.5 Texans (loss)
Steelers -14 Browns (loss)
Vikes -3 Ravens (loss)
Jags -9.5 Rams (loss)
(here's how bad the Rams are; the Jags lost by 5 touchdowns to a middling Seattle team just last week, and I'm willing to give up ten points just to avoid being on the Rams' side)
Saints -3 Giants (win)
Bucs +3 Panthers (loss)
Pack -13 Lions (win)
Eagles -14 Raiders (loss)
(I pick every game, as you know, so I'd have to pick this game no matter the number - in my head I set 21 as the most I'd give here, and still I wouldn't like taking the Raiders. It's sad and there's no other way to put it)
Seattle -3 Arizona (loss)
Jets -9.5 Bills (loss)
NE -9 Titans (win)
Falcons -3 Bears (win)
Broncos +3.5 Chargers
(I didn't like them before the season either, but at some point you won't be able to get points and the Broncos).
5-9
44-46
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