TO a Cowboy No More

The Cowboys have released TO. (Take a breath, then respond). I guess Jerry Jones felt that it was time to cut the cord. TO hadn't really helped this team in the locker room and only moderately on the field. There is sure to be lots of fallout over this.

What would you have done? Is this a good move for the Cowboys? Is TO getting in the way of him breaking NFL receiving records? Is this the end of his career?

Catching Up

It's been a tough few days. Got this cold and it has really put me down for the count. Just coming out of it and I have so much to catch up on. Let's see what we've missed.

Lucky Man - Seems that Sheldon Williams and Cadace Parker have eloped and are now married. At least we know he can score (yes it was cheap, but c'mon).


B$#(% Move - TO is upset because he feels that Romo and Witten spend all of their time coming up with plays for Romo to go to Witten. Ok, I like TO, but this is some jealous b#$@( stuff. If he was a woman, you'd have to be done with him. Too much DRAMA.


Diamond in the Rough - If you haven't seen Stephen Curry play yet, you're missing a treat. Curry plays for Davidson who made a splash last year in the NCAAs and this year Curry has moved to the point instead of his natural shooting guard position. This kid has no conscious and tends to take good shots for his team to win. Davidson isn't as talented as they were last year, but take some time to watch this kid before he goes to the NBA next year.


Melo Out - I always knew Melo could score, but matching the Ice Man, George Gervin's record for most points in a quarter (33 points). Congrats Melo, and maybe the sadder part is they needed those points to beat the Timberwolves. I'm with Charles Barkley on this one,....you won't score 33 points on me in a quarter without me getting thrown out of the game. Someone should have laid Melo out.


NBA Trades -

Suns get Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley for Boris Diaw, Sean Singletary, and Raja Bell. Not sure why this one was even done? I mean Richardson is a good scorer, but the Suns gave up their top reserve and a defensive specialist. I have to like this for the Suns for that reason, but it's not much of an upgrade. I expect Sean Singletary to be released, maybe he returns to the Suns in a few weeks.

Wizards get Mike James and Javaris Crittendon, the Hornets get Antonio Daniels (plus a conditional second round pick), and the Grizzlies get a pick (future first). You can never turn down a two for one, right? (Actually, NYSTOM, you can). But in this case, I'd have to say that the Wizards and the Hornets came out on top. I still like Crittendon and just feel he needs an opportunity. Daniels gives the Hornets a good back up for Chris Paul who can score as well as make plays for others.

NFL Week 4 Wrap Up

Good games all weekend. Lots of ups and downs to go with them. We'll see how I did.

Cleveland @Cincinnati - Don't I get a do over on this one because of Carson Palmer not playing? This was truly an ugly game. This was more of a soccer game (a lot of running around for not a lot of points). Ryan Fitzpatrick made his first start since 2005 and the rust was evident with his 21 of 35 for 156 yards, 1 TD, and 3 INTs. Chad Johnson got his first TD of the year and that was the highlight for the Bengals. Derek Anderson was able to keep his job for at least another week. Inquisitive Mind 0 - 1 for the week.

Minnesota @ Tennessee - The Titans were again led by their defense and they are probably the most interesting 4-0 team in the league. They have lost their starting star QB for an uncertain amount of time, but somehow they get it done each week. Kerry Collins was average (18 of 35 for 199) but the rookie running back, Chris Johnson, had two TD runs. Adrian Peterson was able to get his 80 yards and 2 TDs, but Gus Frerotte was hurt (cut hand) and Tavaris Jackson is now the starter again. Frerotte, you got hit fair and square, don't cry about it. Inquisitive Mind 0 -2 for the week.

Denver @ Kansas City - I see a pattern here. Every time I say a game is going to be an utter blowout, it goes the other way. I don't know if it's me or just karma. The Chiefs invited the Broncos in to Arrowhead and ate them alive. Larry Johnson got his 20+ carries (28) and 198 yards to go along with 2 TDs. The Chiefs D got 4 turnovers and that helped Damon Huard manage the game. Denver is only 3-1 but this was a not what anyone expected, not even the Chiefs. Inquisitive Mind 0 -3 for the week.

San Francisco @ New Orleans - The Saints D dominated from the beginning and didn't let the 49ers get on a roll. JT O'Sullivan accounted for the 3 turnovers from the 49ers (2 INTs, and 1 fumble) which the Saints converted into scores. Drew Brees went for 23 of 35 for 363 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT. Duce McAllister returned and gave the Saints ground game some ooomph. Inquisitive Mind 0 -4 for the week.

Arizona @ New York Jets - Dayum! I'm already 0 -4 and then this happens. Brett Favre decides that he wants to show exactly how well connected he is with his receivers. Favre goes for 24 of 34 for 289 yards, 6 TDs and 1 INT. Favre connected with 8 different receivers and Laveraneus Coles 8 times for 105 yards and 3 of those TDs. Arizona never got out of the corner as the Jets pummeled them from the beginning, 34 - 0 at halftime. Other than the loss, the Cardinals got a scare when Anquan Boldin as carted off the field after getting hit in the head. Reports on him are coming in. Inquisitive Mind 0 - 5 for the week.

Green Bay @ Tampa Bay - Finally a W for me. The Bucs D started this game strong and confused Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Packers for the entirety. Both Brian Griese and Aaron Rodgers threw 3 INTs but the biggest difference in the game is Tampa's D stopping the anemic running game of the Packers. What made this loss even worse for the Packers is that Rodgers may have a separated shoulder. Who's his backup? Prayers go out to Matt Bryant and his family for their loss of their 3 month old son Matthew Tryson Bryant (I'm not sure how he even played today with his heavy heart). Inquisitive Mind 1 - 5 for the week.

Atlanta @ Carolina - This was a pretty dominate performance by the Panthers. They really put a clamp on the Falcons running game and then did the same to Matt Ryan. The Panthers didn't get a lot of production out of either of their running backs, but they totaled 109 yards on 30 carries, enough to eat the clock and go home with the win. Steve Smith scored his first TD of the year, while referee Ed Hoculli may have found himself in the midst of another bad call controversy. Peppers had a clean hit on Ryan. Inquisitive Mind 2 - 5 for the week.

Houston @ Jacksonville - When your kicker is probably your MVP 4 weeks into the season, it tells you how much your team is struggling. The Jaguars continue to get these wins when they should be losses. Matt Schaub played lights out for the Texans with his 29 of 40 for 307 yards and 3 TDs, but when it counted, David Garrard led his team down the field and put Josh Scobee in the position to win yet another game for the Jaguars. Inquisitive Mind 3 - 5 for the week.

San Diego @ Oakland - As I watched this game I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought maybe whatever the Chiefs were drinking, that the Raiders got some too. The Raiders jumped out to an early 15 - 0 lead at halftime led by a defense that came to play and pretty good play by Jamarcus Russell (who quietly out played Phillip Rivers). In the 4th quarter the Chargers scored 25 points. 25 points in the 4th when they looked inadequate the entire game. This definitely has to hurt the Raiders more than any other loss this year. This was probably the last game that Lane Kiffin coaches as the Raiders head coach. He actually had Janikowski try a 76 yard field goal. SEVENTY SIX YARD FIELD GOAL. You don't even try that on Madden. Inquisitive Mind 4 - 5 for the week.

Buffalo @ St. Louis - This should have been a relatively easy blow out, but the Rams made this a game early in the first half. They led going into halftime, 14 to 6. Scott Linehan was excited about his chance of keeping his job and then after that it went awry. The Bills started to dominate on D (interception by Jabari Greer for a TD) and on offense (TDs by Fred Jackson, and Lee Evans). Scott Linehan may be without job soon. Inquisitive Mind 5 - 5 for the week.

Washington @ Dallas - All I can say is the Redskins D held Marion Barber to 26 yards and no TDs. That in itself should tell you the outcome of the game. The Redskins really shut down the Dallas O and kept both Barber and TO limited. Jason Campbell looked great. Clinton Portis provided the ground game (121 yards on 21 carries), but again, Jason Campbell played like the seasoned veteran QB instead of Romo. He moved the Redskins around the field and often found Santana Moss (8 catches for 145 yards). The Redskins went into Dallas and won there, something that many felt was impossible this year. Maybe the Redskins are the toast of the NFC East? Inquisitive Mind 5 - 6 for the week.

Philadelphia @ Chicago - This was supposed to be a homecoming for Donovan McNabb. Let's just say it was a little bittersweet. Although Mama McNabb rolled out the food for her son and his teammates, the game went south late in the 4th. The Eagles should have won this game, but the Bears found a way not to lose this one. The highlights are really all about the Bears. The D held the Eagles out of the end zone late in the 4th on a 4th an 1, Matt Forte ran well (how did this guy slip in the draft?), and Kyle Orton stretched the field enough to keep the Eagles D honest. Inquisitive Mind 5 - 7 for the week.

Well it was a rough week and I'm not feeling any better about Monday's game and my pick of the Ravens. We all can have a bad week though, right? We'll see what happens.

NFL Matchup Week 4

32-15. Those are my picks so far this year. Let's see if we can't get this working a little better. I don't think I can win money in Vegas with these types of numbers. We'll see what's happening this week.

Cleveland @ Cincinnati - Two 0-3 teams who both were supposed to be a lot better than what thy have shown us thus far. The Browns are in the midst of a possible QB change, although at last check, Derek Anderson will start this week. The Bengals are hurting, although they showed some signs of life last weekend against a good team, the Giants. This is like picking the Alien vs the Predator, both are bad, so why pick one? Winner - Bengals

Minnesota @ Tennessee - The Titans have proved that all they need is someone upright in the QB position and they can still win games. The Titans actually have the top two guys on the INT list for the season so far. The Vikings are stout on D and again, I'm not a Frerotte fan. I think this goes horribly wrong for the Vikings if they get behind. I'm hoping they don't get behind. Winner - Vikings

Denver @ Kansas City - This for all intensive purposes should be a blow out of monumental proportions, but that's why they play the games. The Chiefs are talking about starting a 3rd different QB this week, not good when this is game 4 of the season. Denver looks to continue their run to 4-0. Winner - Broncos

San Francisco @ New Orleans - Well, this should be a shootout. New Orleans can't stop anyone and the 49ers are bringing in a balanced team with J.T. O'Sullivan playing well. The Saints are losing Shockey and Jamar Nesbit for this week at a minimum. This is my 'riding the wave' pick for the week. Winner - 49ers

Arizona @ New York Jets - Two similar teams. Two old as dirt starting QBs. Two decent running backs. Two decent defenses, when they come to play. This will come down to which O line protects their QB. Favre is hobbled with a sprained ankle and Warner is looking real good. Can Favre continue where he picked up last week (no, not with a loss, but being more comfortable with his receivers) or are the Cardinals clicking at the right time? Winner - Cardinals

Green Bay @ Tampa Bay - Battle of the Bays. The Bucs come off a come from behind win at Chicago and a QB that might not have an arm this week after 67 pass attempts. The Packers come off a tough loss at home against a very good Dallas team. This is Aaron Rodgers' chance to bounce back against a good team. Tampa is playing at home and hey if Griese's arm is dead, they got 4 other QBs to throw in the game. Winner - Bucs

Atlanta @ Carolina - Two 2-1 teams and this is oddly a statement game. The Panthers need to show that last week was an anomaly. They have their starting receivers back and a punishing ground game. The Panthers D will definitely not allow Michael Turner to get 200 yards or anything close. Winner - Panthers

Houston @ Jacksonville - Talk about what a win will do for you. The Jags looked like a team that found it's groove. I expect them to pound the ball again and get back to the way they were playing last year when no one wanted to see them. Garrard should have a good game too. Winner - Jaguars

San Diego @ Oakland - Normally this is a good game, if not for anything but the Black Hole. Well, as my brother-in-law told me, black implies the absence of light. The Black Hole has a lot of light coming through it. The Raiders are terrible and were it not for a sorry Chiefs team, they would probably be looking for their first win. Monte Kiffin is holding on to his job and trying to keep his chin up. Stay strong Kiffin. Winner - Chargers

Buffalo @ St. Louis - Does St. Louis have a football team? Trent Green is going to start? Even Marshall Faulk was concerned about Green's health starting behind this O line. Why isn't the coach? The Bills, even with the loss of Roscoe Parrish, should dominate this game. Someone please have an ambulance ready for Trent Green. For real. Winner - Bills

Washington @ Dallas - This ought to be good. The Redskins are coming to Dallas to play their final game in the Texas Stadium. The Redskins are 2-1 and the Cowboys look like they are world beaters after taking the Packers down a notch last week. TO had 2 catches for 17 yards. I expect that stat to be increased substantially. Felix Jones will get more carries this week too, although nothing does any Cowboys fan justice like giving Barber the rock often. Winner - Cowboys

Philadelphia @ Chicago - Another good one. McNabb comes home to Chicago with the Bears needing a win to stop the bleeding. The Bears couldn't sack Griese last week and he dropped back 67 times. McNabb and the Eagles just find a way to win even with Westbrook hobbled (ankle), LJ Smith hobbled (back), and McNabb himself with a sore chest. The Bears need to run the ball, fire their offensive coordinator, and pray that all of the Eagles linemen just fall down, allowing a bee line to McNabb. Why couldn't the Bears find a way to trade Urlacher for McNabb this summer? Winner - Eagles

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh - The Steelers are without Willie Parker, Casey Hampton, and Brett Keisel. Big Ben, Troy Polamalu, DeShea Townsend, LaMarr Woodley, and Donovan Woods are banged up. The Ravens are winning games like they used to, run the ball and don't let their QB screw it up. McGahee has a swollen eye after tangling with some of the Browns in a pile last week, so hopefully he'll be able to see the white jerseys hitting him on Monday night. Rashard Mendenhall gets his first start against a good Ravens D. Welcome to the NFL Rashard - Signed Ray Lewis. Winner - Ravens

Shootout in Big D - NFL Monday Night Football Wrap Up Week 2

If you watched the game last night you saw an amazing display of fireworks coming from each team. I for one had picked the Eagles because they normally play the Cowboys tight and something about Tony Romo with the ball in hands (or lack there of) at the end of a big game. This was a heavyweight slugfest with the Cowboys coming out on top. Things I noticed:

Donovan McNabb - Man, I'm sorry. I had you pegged as delirious with your proclamation that you guys were going to win big this year, along with SI forecasting that the Eagles will be in the Superbowl this year. I talked about you not having anyone to throw the ball too, except Westbrook and LJ Smith (whom you ignored last night and cost me my Fantasy Football game), but you are proving me wrong after week 2. Has anyone, and I mean anyone thought about how good this guy could be with a legit #1 receiver? Again, can't they get Anquan Boldin?

DeSean Jackson - Set a record by having two 100+ yard games in his first two starts. Will forever be remembered for his (2nd) bonehead play to toss the ball away at the one, something close to a Leon Lett play. Dude, finish the play, then celebrate. I'm not going to ride him because everyone else will do that for weeks and years to come, thanks to You Tube.

Marion Barber III - Ummmmm,......I'm not sure how much better this guy can get. He runs hard, catches the ball well, and seems to be pretty durable when you consider his running style. Should we be mentioning this guy as one of the best in the game now? Right up there with LT and Adrian Peterson?

Tony Romo - I guess if we just get this guy some stickum, he'll be ok. He really only made about 4 bad plays last night, and two of them happened on the fumble (the fumble and then not falling on the ball to give the Eagles the safety instead of the TD).

T.O. - What's his fascination with Usain Bolt? This is the second week in a row that T.O. has impersonated the sprinter during a game. Last week it was getting in the starting block and firing off after his TD (which he was fined for, stupid move by the league), and then on his 72 yard TD reception last night he broke the tape at the end zone as he crossed the line. T.O. became #2 on the NFL Career Receiving TD list. He's only a mere 65 behind Jerry Rice (yes, Rice was that good).

This game puts Cowboys are 2-0 and the Eagles at 1-1. The NFC East will be exciting this year if the games are played like this. I ended the week going 12-3 on picks, so all in all a good week.

NFL Week 1 Wrap Up

Well, it was a good thing that I didn't take my bets to Vegas or I'd be trying to walk back home. All in all a good day of NFL Football, just a bad day to be a QB. We'll see what I got right and what I got wrong on my picks.

Detroit @ Atlanta - Wow!!!! Not sure if I'm more surprised by the Lions not playing or the way the Falcons did. 22 carries for 220 yards, and two TDs, I think that gets Michael Turner the game ball for the week. Atlanta destroyed the Lions, although Roy Williams at least got me the TD I needed for fantasy. Inquisitive Mind 0 - 1 for the week.

Seattle @ Buffalo - Another good game, but the Buffalo special teams won it for them. Marshawn Lynch had 18 carries for 76 yards and a TD. Edwards played well, but Julius Jones disappointed in his Seahawk debut. Inquisitive Mine 1-1 for the week.

New York Jets @ Miami - A little shaky start for the folks in New Jersey. Favre played decently and Thomas Jones got his 101 yards (and a TD), but this game came down to the last few minutes. It really shouldn't have. The Jets should be happy that they played the Dolphins this early in the season. Inquisitive Mind 2-1 for the week.

Kansas City @ New England - Wow and not in a good way. Brady is probably out for the year and the Pats snuck by a terrible Chiefs team. I know they are glad for the win, but thinking about Brady being out for the year has got to temper all of the Superbowl talk. There were reports from ESPN saying that Brady tore ligaments in his knee and that Tim Rattay and Chris Simms are en route to New England for possible tryouts. That last sentence has soooo much wrong with it. Inquisitive Mind 3-1 for the week.

Tampa Bay @ New Orleans - Can you feel sorry for a team that has had success and has won a Superbowl in the last 8 years? The Bucs were so close yesterday, but yet so far. They kept a Saints team within reach the entire game but not enough O to win it. Inquisitive Mind 4-1 for the week.

St. Louis @ Philadelphia - Could I have been wrong? This was an old school out behind the shed butt whuppin!! McNabb looked great and he was throwing to scabs. Philly looked like the team that they said they were, or did they just play a terrible Rams team? We'll see over the next few weeks. Inquisitive Mind 5-1 for the week.

Houston @ Pittsburgh - Add another butt whuppin to the menu. Roethlisberger was almost perfect for the game, Willie Parker had 138 yards and 3 TDs, and even Byron Leftwich played. I don't think that you could write it up any better than this. Inquisitive Mind 6-1 for the week.

Jacksonville @ Tennessee - Things went horribly wrong here. The Titans D stepped up and played great. They had 2 picks of Garrard and they held the Jaguars running game in check. The bad part is that Vince Young hurt his knee/leg and he's being examined as we speak. The hope is that it isn't anywhere near as bad as Brady. Inquisitive Mind 6-2 for the week.

Cincinnati @ Baltimore - The Baltimore D played like they haven't played in a while. They kept the Bengals under 200 yards total offense. Flacco got his first win and my week's picks are starting to go in the wrong direction. Inquisitive Mind 6-3 for the week.

Carolina @ San Diego - San Diego wins this game in a thriller. Oh no,.......what?!?!? Delhomme did what? That wasn't picked? The Panthers shock the Chargers on a last second (actually 2 seconds) touchdown catch by Dante Rosario. The Chargers D looked stale and the offense wasn't that good either. This is one of those that got away from the Chargers. The Panthers took it from them. Inquisitive Mind 6-4 for the week.

Arizona @ San Francisco - This was a yawner. It seemed like the Cardinals thought that by showing up they would win. It took them the second half of the game to put it out of reach. Nothing spectacular in this one, but I did get a pick right. Inquisitive Mind 7-4 for the week.

Dallas @ Cleveland - Talk about a half of domination. I thought the Cowboys would have gotten close to 50 in this game the way they were playing. Romeo Crennel talked to his D at half time and the result was them at least bloodying Tony Romo. The Browns made a lot of mistakes on O, and they couldn't stop the Cowboys running game. Marion Barber got hurt in the first game of the season, that running style isn't going to lend to him playing all 16. Inquisitive Mind 8-4 for the week.

Chicago @ Indianapolis - Was this a home game for the Bears? It sounded like there were more Bears fans in Lucas Oil Stadium than Colts fans. All that talk about Manning just turning the page and coming out smoking, well it doesn't happen quite that easily. The Bears tried their best to confuse Manning and his new starting center by bringing some kind of blitz the entire game. They would line up 7 and you never knew who was coming. Forte played well in his debut ending the game with 123 yards and a TD. He also became the answer to a trivia question, Who was the first person to score a TD in the new Lucas Oil Stadium? Inquisitive Mind 8-5 for the week.

Two more games to go,...let's see if I can't go 10-5 for the week with wins by Minnesota and Oakland.

Fantasy Football Week 1

Ok, due to the Thursday night start to the NFL season (more on that later), I have to have my roster in (Cold Ones) before 6pm CST tonight. The schedule for our league for Week 1 looks as follows:

Big Game Hunter vs Cold Ones

Potomac PimpSlappers vs The Quite Franklies

Silver & Black Rules vs They Might Be Giants

RobbBobbyBilly vs Charlotte PrimeTime!

Techno Raiders vs Air Raiders

RDU Saints vs Tha Bruthaz

For my team, going against the Big Game Hunter is a plus since he talks THE most trash in our league. Not only is he French Huguenot, but he's supposedly fast too. The match up looks like this:

Cold Ones vs Big Game Hunter

Carson Palmer (QB - Cin) ----- Jon Kitna (QB - Det)
Terrell Owens (WR - Dal) ----- Reggie Wayne (WR - Ind)
Roy Williams (WR - Det) ----- Donald Driver (WR - GB)
Lee Evans (WR - Buf) ----- Vincent Jackson (WR - SD)
Marshawn Lynch (RB - Buf) ----- Steven Jackson (RB - STL)
Thomas Jones (RB - NYJ) ----- Michael Turner (RB - ATL)
LJ Smith (TE - Phi) ----- Jeremy Shockey (TE - NO)
Jeff Reed (K - Pitt) ----- Josh Brown (K - STL)
Indianapolis (DEF) ----- Oakland (DEF)

So right now I'm feeling pretty good about my chances as this should be a close game. I'm hoping that Carson Palmer steps it up and plays well against Baltimore. If you got any suggestions to change my lineup, let me know. I have Rashard Mendenhall, Ronald Curry, Santa Moss, Vince Young, Devery Henderson, Ahman Green, and Chris Taylor on the bench (I think you understand why I have the guys above as starters. The Cold Ones are looking to start the season off 1-0. Big Game Hunter prepare to be hunted.