#180: Weekly Picks
---In Absentia---Since there is no "Steeltown Sports: Live" broadcast this week, I have to make the picks so that, no matter how horrendous my picks have been this year.
No analysis needed here. Steelers should annihilate Carolina if they are to have any hope of being a Super Bowl contender. Otherwise, they'll be one-and-done.
Steelers -14.5
(edit Sunday 12/26/10 @ 8:45PM)
Oops. Totally forgot about this until now. Just as well, I probably would have missed the pick as I had another bad one. That just pigeon-holes me into the Monday night or Tuesday night game.
I don't trust games played in wind or snow insofar as spread is concerned. Throw in the extra wrinkle that Philadelphia has clinched the NFC East and they might be motivated for trying to get a first round bye, but even against this vastly underachieving Minnesota Vikings team, a 13.5 point spread is something I don't want to mess with.
The other game isn't much clearer. Atlanta is not statistically sound enough to be 12-2. Meanwhile, New Orleans has been a little worse. No Super Bowl hangover here, that's for sure.
When push comes to shove, the stats SHOULD even out. Even Falcons fans should be cheering to lose, because without coming back to Earth a little bit, Atlanta will be ripe for a divisional round exit.
Saints +2.5
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#179: SSL Broadcast #22
---Auld Lang Syne---The final "Steeltown Sports: Live" of 2010 features:
- Steelers in some trouble with Troy Polamalu potentially being out for the remainder of the season and the offensive line being the worst in the league.
- Special guest Dutch Wydo joins in.
- NFL Picks of the Week. The Steeler picks are 6-8 entering after they covered -8.5points, thanks to two pick-sixes (as a Steeler fan, I'll take a win by any amount, but the picks are hemmoraging) and POTW 7-7 after the Eagles won...but not by the 4 points needed for the cover. This is my worst year EVER picking NFL games...both spread and straigh up...
- Next week, I plan to post my thoughts for the week here in blog form, as well as my Week 16 NFL picks, as there will be no SSL program due to Christmas.
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#178: Dec 11 Weeklies
---SSL #21, and WTFotW---
First, the archived broadcast from this Saturday. I did not make predictions this week on the air (ran out of time). The weekly picks will made exclusively here, and will count (for better or for worse) toward the final standings.
The show topics include:
- Steelers in the drivers seat in AFC North, but at a price. They must also watch out in the ultimate trap game.
- Pirates have made ZERO progress, as expected.
- Penguins, Pitt, and even a little boxing.
- NFL Picks of the Week. The Steeler picks are 6-7 entering after they covered +2.5 (even though I predicted they would lose by 1 or 2...so it's still a win) and POTW 7-6 after the Bears were unable to cover 5.5 they were given vs. Detroit.
THIS WEEK'S PICKS, exclusive to the blog.
Steelers: Steelers will not cover the 9.5 points they are favored by. Weather will play a factor, and I'm not convinced that the Steelers aren't looking ahead to the Jets next week. Cincy will keep it close in a low-scoring affair.
Rest of the NFL: Eagles -3.5 at Dallas. Always risky to make a picks of a divisional road favorite, but this looks like a bad matchup for Big D. (also considered taking Bears +3, Washington PK, and Rams +9.5). Have a hard time believing in any of those 3 teams right now, though).
Now, to the final What the @*#$ of the Week. This short-lived feature will be retired.
Big Ben puts forth a gargantuan effort, playing through a foot injury and suffering a broken nose. The nose was shattered to the point where a doctor said that the bones "looked like corn flakes."
Initially, they told sideline reporters that the nose wasn't broken. Yeah, right.
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#177: Dec 4 Weeklies
---SSL #20, and WTFotW---First, the archived broadcast from this Saturday.
The show topics include:
- James Harrison is running out of ways to attack the opposing QB.
- Sidney Crosby has caught fire as the Pens go for their 9th win in a row.
- Steelers at a disadvantage vs. Baltimore.
- NFL Picks of the Week. The Steeler picks are now 5-7 after they fail to cover the spread against Buffalo (4-7 vs. Steeler spreads, due to the 1 pick I made in their stead during the bye week) and POTW 6-6 after the Seahawks fail to deliver on the "light home underdog" trend.
Now, to the What the @*#$ of the Week:
You may have heard of this before.
"Every spring, the citizens of Gloucestershire throw a wheel of cheese down Cooper Hill and chase after it. The winner of the race gets to keep the cheese. Due to hill’s steepness, the wheel can reach speeds up to 70mph, injuring many racers along the way. Safety concerns like this led the 2010 race to be cancelled."
I'm surprised Wisconsin didn't think of it first.
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