Friday Smorgasbord (as well MLB Playoffs and Week 4 NFL picks)

There has been a lot going on in the sports world these days so there doesn’t seem like a better time than now to have another smorgasbord. Let’s dive right in…

• First off, I decided to not print my Pitt to the ACC column largely because it looks like conference expansion has been put on hold for now and that was largely the gist of the column. That being said, I love the move to the ACC for Pitt. Sure, most of us will miss the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden, an event that I have personally attended a few times, but that is a sacrifice the school had to make for the better long term prospects of both football and basketball in the ACC. Besides, having Duke and/or North Carolina coming into the Oakland Zoo every year is a pretty nice trade off.

• The biggest point that I was going to make in my conference expansion column was that I wish we would just get to the four or five super-conferences already and be done with it. I think it is pretty obvious that we are heading in that direction and the constant speculation, rumors and back-office maneuvering is tiresome. This temporary hold on the conference expansion just means that we have to continue to discuss where and what conferences teams are going to end up in.

• Speaking of Pitt, Coach Graham and company got their first signature win last night on national television at home against South Florida…a game in which even LeBron James weighed in on how awesome Ray Graham is. Ray Graham, the RB, might have been in the Heisman conversation if Pitt would have just held on against Iowa. After last night’s win, anything short of a battle with West Virginia for the conference championship would have to be considered a disappointment.

• Mike Wallace is quickly becoming of the NFL’s best wide receivers. He doesn’t have the freakish skills that guys like Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson have but his combination of speed and route running is quickly putting him on those guys level. Wallace reminds me a ton of a young Torry Holt or Reggie Wayne, with possibly even more speed than those guys had.

• After the Steelers first three games, I’m still not sure what kind of team they are. I think we will learn a lot more after this week’s game in Houston. That being said, I was extremely encouraged by the play of James Harrison and Troy Polamalu last week. If those guys are healthy and playing the way they are capable of, this team will be right there in the end.

• If you missed Major League Baseball’s final regular season night on Wednesday, you missed a treat. It was like baseball’s version of March Madness with 3+ hours of top drama as the Cardinals and Rays somehow completed two of baseball’s most unbelievable rallies to pass the Braves and Red Sox for the wild card spots. I tried to be positive there for both the Cards and Rays but really they were two of the worst collapses in sports history by Boston and Atlanta - capped off by dramatic collapses in game 162 by each team.

• The baseball playoffs start today and I absolutely love post-season baseball. Every pitch is filled with so much drama, I only wish they occurred faster than every 30 seconds or so. In the Wild Card round, I’m going with the Yankees in four, Rays in five, Phillies and Brewers both in four to advance and I’m sticking with my preseason prediction of the Yankees winning the World Series. Since Atlanta collapsed and missed the postseason, I’ll take the Yanks to beat Milwaukee in the World Series after the Brewers pull the unexpected upset of Philadelphia for the NL pennant.

• With those picks out of the way, here are my week four NFL picks:

(Home Team in Caps)

DALLAS (-1.5) over Detroit – Continue to go against Detroit…might continue to regret it. It’s not that I don’t believe they are legit, it just comes down to individual games and match-ups.

New Orleans (-7) over JACKSONVILLE – No way the Jags and rookie QB Blaine Gabbert can keep up with this Saints offense.

PHILADELPHIA (-9) over San Francisco – This is the week the Eagles win big and everyone thinks everything is a-ok again in Philadelphia.

ST. LOUIS (+2) over Washington – Be careful going against home dogs.

CLEVELAND (pk) over Tennessee – I think it is going to take some time for Tennessee to adjust to life without Kenny Britt.

CINCINNATI (+3.5) over Buffalo – Again, beware of home dogs. Plus, Buffalo is going to come back to earth at some point.

Minnesota (-2) over KANSAS CITY – Eventually Minnesota is not going to blow a big halftime lead.

CHICAGO (-6.5) over Carolina – Newton has not seen anything like what he will see this week in Julius Peppers and the Bears ball-hawking defense.

Pittsburgh (+3.5) over HOUSTON – Does anyone not think that this game is a complete coin-toss? Give me the 3.5 points before I overthink it.

Atlanta (-4.5) over SEATTLE – I think Atlanta could up being our Jekyll and Hyde team this year…one week they look terrible and the next they look fantastic.

New York Giants (-1) over ARIZONA – So far the Kevin Kolb experience at QB is not working for the Cardinals.

Miami (+7) over SAN DIEGO – I think the Chargers win but the Dolphins keep it close.

GREEN BAY (-12.5) over Denver – Yes it is a ton of points but I can’t see how the Broncos can keep up with this fantastic Packers offense at home.

New England (-4) over OAKLAND – Check Bill Belichick’s record after a loss and this pick makes a whole lot more sense.

New York Jets (+3.5) over BALTIMORE – Think this one comes down to a field goal at the end.

Indianapolis (+10) over TAMPA BAY – I know the Monday Night Football schedule was made up before Peyton Manning’s availability was fully known but still, this has to be the worst line-up of primetime games I have ever seen.

(Last Week: 10-6; Overall: 23-23-2)

Super Bowl Smorgasbord

The Super Bowl is only three days away now and we are nearly finished with two weeks of over-the-top Super Bowl coverage from ESPN and every other major sports news outlet there is. Before tackling the actual game tomorrow, I wanted to dive into some of the storylines heading into the game and give my thoughts on some of the topics.

· It has been a relatively calm week so far in Dallas with the biggest story being reported on is how the Steelers, namely James Harrison, have attacked Roger Goodell and the NFL office. You know it has been a somewhat boring build-up when we are rehashing the same stories from week five of the regular season. The good news is that the game should more than make up for the lack of great stories heading in.

· The one story that did get a little pub was that a number of Steelers, including Hines Ward and Ike Taylor, were at a strip club Monday night. Any fan that has a problem with the Steelers enjoying themselves six nights before the Super Bowl with an off day following should get a life.

· I read an interesting take (and I forget where it came from now) wondering just why the Packers are the favorite in this game. The writer wondered how the Steelers with the better defense, better quarterback and better running game can be the underdog. That view makes a lot of sense until you remember just how darn good the Packers have looked over their past five games.

· Rod Woodson made a statement last week that Ben Roethlisberger is not a top 5 active quarterback. While I disagree with him completely I could certainly understand someone thinking that Big Ben is not top five if he were to put Manning, Brady, Brees, Rivers and Rodgers ahead of him. If nothing else, it is at least a completely defensible point of view. But Big Ben has to be close to that group doesn’t he? Woodson made it sound like Roethlisberger is nowhere near this elite category and defended his statement by saying that Roethlisberger played poorly in his first Super Bowl and that he has more to prove this offseason as a person. Come on Rod…you sounded old and bitter and backed up what could have been a defensible statement with garbage reasons. Woodson was a terrific player, one of the best of all time, but I don’t think he has much of a future as an analyst.

· I have no idea if Woodson even has an interest in being an analyst. My guess is that he does not or he would have already been hired by ESPN for his good looks and total lack of knowledge. If he needs references, Emmit Smith, Michael Irvin and Trent Dilfer are available.

· Normally I would put something about last Sunday’s Pro Bowl here but for at least the fifth straight year I didn’t see a minute of the game. Seriously, why does the NFL insist on playing this game? If they cannot attract hard-core fans like myself and others I know who were not watching, why not do away with the game and have some kind of fun skills competition or something?

· On the Green Bay side of things you want to talk about boring! At least from the Steelers perspective we have Harrison’s fines, Roethlisberger the changed man, whether Pouncey and Aaron Smith will play, Brett Keisel’s beard and even a strip club mention to talk about. Outside of actual football related stuff, there has been nothing fun to talk about happening on the Packers end. I have seen more articles about Brett Favre, Vince Lombardi and Cheeseheads than I have about the current team. We at least learned that B.J. Raji seems like a pretty cool dude.

When I started writing this piece I thought I would have much more to touch on but it has been a relatively quiet build-up towards Super Bowl XLV. For what it’s worth I really think that is a good thing. With the potential to be one of the all-time great Super Bowls it is fantastic that there really are no stories that could overshadow the game. I will be back tomorrow with my abbreviated breakdown of the game and my official prediction. Who knows, there is a chance I could put my Pittsburgh bias aside and pick what has looked like the best team in football over the past month…