Weekend Picks

Huskies +5.5 over Oregon State - This is a very tough road game for the Dawgs and also a tough match up, because of Oregon State's strong running game. Yvenson Bernard has already rushed for 120+ in each of the last two meetings with UW. However, Oregon State will be without their starting QB and the Huskies offense is on a roll right now. This game will be a big test for the offense though, the rushing offense in particular, because Oregon State has one of the top run defenses in the conference, giving up less than 100 yards per game. I'm looking for a sloppy, low scoring game in the bad weather and the Beavers will probably pull out the win. It should be fairly close though, with the Dawgs having a chance to squeak out a win at the end.

Huskies can win if: They can hold Bernard closer to 100 yards than 200 and they themselves can run the ball effectively. They also must cut down on the turnovers. OSU 23, UW 20

Seahawks -10 over 49ers - I originally picked the Niners to cover the spread in this one, but I just can't see them scoring enough points to stay in this game. I know the Hawks' D played horrible last week, but the Browns are one of the top offenses in the league. The 49ers are simply bad on both sides of the ball right now. Although if Frank Gore goes back to his Seahawk killing ways then it could be a while different story. But look for the Hawks D to shut down the Niners and for Hasselbeck to pick apart their secondary.

Seahawks can win if: They stop Frank Gore and don't have any stupid turnovers. Seattle 24, San Fran 10

Just as a side note, if you haven't noticed, I don't pick a whole lot of these games right. These picks are purely for entertainment and should not be used for any gambling purposes. Doesn't it seem like you should have a license for that sort of thing? I mean, how many people on the internet call themselves "experts"? If it were that easy then it wouldn't be gambling. That being said, I also like Oklahoma State +6.5 over Kansas this weekend...

Also, I want to present Kentucky basketball as exhibit A as a follow up to my post about the pre-season basketball polls not meaning anything. The #20 ranked Wildcats lost last night to Gardner-Webb in their second game of the season. Gardner-Webb. At home. I'm just saying.

MLB Replay

The use of instant replay for dispute home run calls was approved today by MLB general managers. Here is the article with some details and quotes from ESPN.com. Although I think any use of replay beyond this is a horrible idea, I do think that replay on home run calls has become almost a necessity. It's really not a knock on the umpires abilities, a lot of those calls are simply just too hard to make from an umpire's point of view and they usually aren't in position to make the correct call. Those yellow lines really don't help decipher all that much between the top of the wall and over the wall. And the designs of stadiums and the different quirks in them has also made the duty that much more difficult. Just look at the one game playoff this year played in Colorado. Matt Holliday hit a ball that hit off a railing placed directly on the other side of the wall. The call was made incorrectly, but most everyone could sympathize with the umpire in that situation. How was he supposed to see a railing out of plain sight from the field? The talk after that game was all about whether or not Holliday actually touched home plate on the winning run, but really the game may have never headed to extra innings, because Holliday's hit was ruled a double and the Rockies never scored. Had the Rockies lost that game the entire course of the playoffs would have been altered. Surely the biggest concerns would be the addition of time to already long games and the fear of additional replay being instituted down the road. The people in the top in baseball are surely aware of the risk of adding extra down time to the games and will probably take this into great consideration when finalizing the replay procedure. Limited replay used to prevent these situations is a reasonable addition to the game of baseball.

Should Have Punted

It's been a few hours since the Hawks' overtime loss to the Browns and I still can't find any justification for going for it on fourth down there in overtime. I understand that with sudden death you want to do everything possible to score when you get the ball first and maybe Holmgren didn't feel that the D could get the job done, since they couldn't stop Cleveland the entire second half. That being said, the Seahawks have been absolutely horrible in short yardage situations this season, ranking near the bottom of the league in both third and fourth down conversions. The Hawks had already been stopped on a 4th and 2 earlier in the game and appeared to run almost the exact same play on that last attempt. Holmgren seems to be living in the past and just doesn't seem to realize that the offensive line just isn't capable of dominating like it was during the Super Bowl season. That year Seattle ranked number one in the league for fourth down conversions, only getting stopped once all season. The formula was simple then: hand it to your MVP running back and run him behind the best left guard and left tackle in the NFL. Everyone in the stadium knew what was coming, but it just couldn't be stopped. The team just isn't what it was that year anymore. Every time the Hawks have gone for it on fourth down this season they seem to run a similar play and time and time again the defense seems well prepared for what's coming. But the bottom line is that Holmgren should have trusted his defense and forced the Browns to put together a significant drive in order to win the game. It's rather ironic how this one played out considering how often it seems that Holmgren is too determined to play the field position game.