Mike's Week 12 NFL Picks

Last Week: 12-3

Overall: 20-9

Last week was a very good week. I got 12 right which is the best I've done since early in the season when I went 14-2. But that was before my blog. I forgot to post my picks before Thanksgiving so I'm missing three games.

Tampa Bay at Atlanta: Atlanta

Miami at Buffalo: Miami

Cleveland at Cincinnati: Cincinnati

Seattle at St. Louis: Seattle

Carolina at New York Jets: New York Jets

Washington at Philadelphia: Philadelphia

Indianapolis at Houston: Indianapolis

Kansas City at San Diego: San Diego

Jacksonville at San Francisco: San Francisco

Arizona at Tennessee: Tennessee

Chicago at Minnesota: Minnesota

Pittsburgh at Baltimore: Pittsburgh

New England at New Orleans: New Orleans

No picks were made for the Green Bay-Detroit, Oakland-Dallas and New York Giants-Denver games since the games were made prior to my picks

Ohio advances to the MAC Championship Game

Ohio defeated Temple 35-17 yesterday. With the win, Ohio advances to the MAC Championship Game versus Central Michigan. Ohio was underdogs entering the game versus Temple yesterday. People such as me were pointing out how Temple had a massive offensive line and how Ohio would have trouble scoring against Temple's defense. Forget about all of that. Ohio has proved that they are the class of the MAC East with the win over Temple. Ohio, led by quarterback Theo Scott lit up the Temple defense the entire game. Theo Scott passed for 324 yards completing 17-21 passes for three touchdowns. But that wasn't all he did; he also rushed for 69 yards and two touchdowns. The Ohio offense had it best game of the season by far. The offense gave Ohio a big lead early in the third quarter and Temple had to try to get themselves back into the game. To do that, Temple abandoned the running game. Forced to pass the ball to get back, Temple struggled under the pressure. They threw three interceptions in the second half and struggled just to move the ball. In the end, Ohio proved to be the more balanced team and that is why they are going to Detroit to play in the MAC Championship Game.

TEAM STAT COMPARISON
1st Downs	23	22
3rd down efficiency	5-17	2-9
4th down efficiency	1-3	0-0
Total Yards	378	494
Passing	123	324
Comp-Att	11-34	17-21
Yards per pass	3.6	15.4
Rushing	255	170
Rushing Attempts	47	38
Yards per rush	5.4	4.5
Penalties	5-40	6-45
Turnovers	3	0
Fumbles lost	0	0
Interceptions thrown	3	0
Possession	29:43	30:17

Ohio Takes on Temple for the MAC East Crown

Ohio University takes on Temple University today in a battle for the MAC East Championship. The winner advances to to the MAC Championship game to take on Central Michigan. The game is at 11am on Friday morning. It is at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio and the game will be on ESPNU.

Temple is on a roll entering this game. They have won nine games in a row since losing to Penn State and are ranked #30 in the country. They are led by their massive offensive line and great running attack. They have yet to lose a game in the MAC and have even beaten good programs such as Navy. Temple is very confident entering this game and a win may even put them in the top25.

Ohio is very excited for this game too. Ohio managed to squeak by Northern Illinois last week due to a strong fourth quarter. If Ohio wants to win this game, they will need a strong effort by quarterback Theo Scott and the run defense. Temple runs over their opponents and Ohio must be prepared to stop them. Theo Scott must be strong for Ohio to stay in it because Temple's ball control offense will limit the amount of possessions Ohio will have. They will need to capitalize when they have the ball.

The disappointing aspect of this game is that the students at Ohio University are home for winter break. That means that this senior day game will be in front of a small crowd and their will be no home field advantage. Temple will have the advantage in this game. Their defense is to strong for Ohio and Temple will own the time of possession. I see a hard fought game but in the end i see Temple winning.

Score: Temple 24-17

Wednesday's Main Stories

On Wednesday, I got home from college to find some very interesting topics. The three top stories in my mind that took place on wednesday are as follows:

1. Allen Iverson Retires from the NBA

2. The Bills and Mike Shannahan had a seven hour talk on Tuesday night

3. Duke beat Arizona State and will take on UCONN in the Preseason NIT Final

We'll start out with the Iverson retirement news. I believe this is far from final and I think he will be back in the NBA at some point but this news is shocking. Iverson has been in the NBA for 13 seasons and is a 10 time all-star. He is one of the best sub six-feet tall players in NBA history. Iverson has had a great career but has been lack luster his last few years. In the beginning of last year, Iverson was traded to Detroit and things just didn't work for him. The Pistons struggled and he couldn't adapt to a reserve role. This year, he signed with the Grizzlies but had problems right away. He hated his role and made it public that he didn't like it there. The owner granted him his wish to be released and no team has attempted to sign him yet. With the lack of teams at his door, Iverson decided to call it a quits on his career and retire. But i advise you guys to still follow him, it would not surprise me to see him back.

Story#2: The Bills and Mike Shanahan had a seven hour meeting on Tuesday night. There is definite interest on both sides. While they agreed that nothing about a contract will be decided during the regular season, both sides seem willing to talk about it again after the season is over. Rumors are saying that Shanahan is seeking $50 million over five years and partial ownership of the Bills. And if reports from Buffalo are true, Ralph Wilson might actually be willing to give Shanahan what he wants. For the Bills sake, let's hope he signs to be there coach. Also, espn.com reports that former S. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz is interested in the Bills Head Coach position

Story#3: Duke defeated Arizona State and UCONN defeated LSU in the semi-finals of the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Duke and UCONN will meet in the final on Friday which should make for a exciting early season game. If i had to make a prediction for the game, I would pick Duke over UCONN.

Monday Night Football Preview

The Tennessee Titans take on the Houston Texans tonight on Monday Night Football in a battle between two AFC South teams. Tennessee has rebounded well after starting the season 0-6. Despite being out of the playoff race, the Titans are still playing hard and look rejuvenated behind quarterback Vince Young. The Houston Texans are looking to get a win in order to stay in wild card contention. The Texans are currently 5-4 and a win will put them in a tie for the final AFC playoff spot.

There are stars to look at for both teams in this game. The Titans are lead by the leading rusher in the NFL Chris Johnson. Johnson is one of the fastest players in the NFL and can take it to the house on any given play. He is averaging over six yards per carry which is extraordinary by NFL standards. The Texans are led by quarterback Matt Schaub and wide receiver Andre Johnson. The dynamic duo on offense lights it up in the air. Schaub already has 2600 yards passing and 17 touchdowns in nine games and Johnson has 54 catches for 800 yards. If Tennessee wants to win, they will have to stop Houston's passing game. Also, on defense, look out for Texan's defensive end Mario Williams and Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan. These are both teams biggest playmakers and they can change the game at any second.

I expect Tennessee to continue their winning streak tonight versus the Texans. The Titans are playing better defense now and are getting back to doing things that they did when they were winning football games. I expect Chris Johnson to run the ball all over the Texans and have another 100+ yard rushing game. As for the Texans, I don't expect them to be clutch when it matter tonight. While the Texans have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, they have had a tendency in the past to blow games versus weaker teams or not show up for big games. I expect that to continue tonight. I suspect it will be close near the end and Tennessee will pull out the victory.

Prediction:

Titans win 27-24

Ohio University Takes Down Northern Illinois

On Saturday afternoon, Ohio University took down Northern Illinois by the score of 38-31. The game started out favorably for Ohio as they got off to a quick 14-0 lead. But Northern Illinois was not going to go down easily. Led by their quarterback Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois quietly fought their way back into the game and to a 14-14 tie at the half. From the third quarter on, the game was back-and-forth as Ohio would take the lead and then Northern Illinois would take the lead and vice versa. It came down to who would make the big play at the right time. Northern scored first in the fourth to take a 28-24 lead. Everyone in the stands knew it would come down to the bobcat's offense ability to respond and respond is exactly what they did. Theo Scott led the Bobcats down the field and converted on a crucial 4th down that later led to a seven yard touchdown pass on the drive to Taylor Price. Northern Illinois was given the ball down three points with five minutes left but failed to do anything with it. Harnish threw an interception on 3rd and long to Ohio cornerback Julian Posey and he returned it all the way for a 41 yard touchdown putting Ohio up 38-28. Northern Illinois still attempted to get back into the game with a field goal with under a minute left but they later failed on the onside kick attempt which ended all their hopes. With the win, Ohio keeps their MAC Championship dreams alive and moves to 8-3(6-1) on the season.

TEAM STAT COMPARISON
1st Downs	20	15
3rd down efficiency	9-18	4-13
4th down efficiency	1-2	1-1
Total Yards	421	247
Passing	307	144
Comp-Att	24-38	17-29
Yards per pass	8.1	5.0
Rushing	114	103
Rushing Attempts	36	27
Yards per rush	3.2	3.8
Penalties	6-51	3-39
Turnovers	2	1
Fumbles lost	1	1
Interceptions thrown	1	0
Possession	32:36	27:24

Mike's Week 11 NFL Picks

Last Week: 8-6

Last week was a tough week. Their were many upsets and teams that lost that you don't expect to lose that often. Here's this weeks version of NFL picks.

Washington at Dallas: Dallas

Cleveland at Detroit: Detroit

San Francisco at Green Bay: Green Bay

Pittsburgh at Kansas City: Pittsburgh

Atlanta at New York Giants: New York Giants

New Orleans at Tampa Bay: New Orleans

Buffalo at Jacksonville: Buffalo

Indianapolis at Baltimore: Indianapolis

Seattle at Minnesota: Minnesota

Arizona at St. Louis: Arizona

New York Jets at New England: New England

Cincinnati at Oakland: Cincinnati

San Diego at Denver: San Diego

Philadelphia at Chicago: Philadelphia

Tennessee at Houston: Tennessee

No pick was made for the Miami-Carolina game since the game was played prior to me making my picks

2K Sports Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic Starts Tonight

Tonight, the annual 2K Sports Coaches Vs. Cancer tournament starts in New York City. As usual, this mini-tournament features many top rate teams and programs. This year's edition features #4 North Carolina, #12 California, #15 Ohio State, and #24 Syracuse.

The 7pm game is between California(2-0) and Syracuse(2-0). This game is important for both teams. Syracuse is trying to prove itself as a true top25 team. Earlier this season, they lost to cross town rival LeMoyne in a exhibition. Although the game didn't count in the record books, it has brought a lot of questioning to whether or not Syracuse is overrated. California wants to do good in this game to show everyone in the PAC10 that they are the team to beat. California is currently the highest ranked team in the PAC10 and is poised to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament this year.

The second game of the double header tonight features Ohio State(2-0) taking on North Carolina(3-0). The main story-line of this game about the main stars on each team playing on the big stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City. North Carolina is led by senior forward Deon Thompson who is averaging 17.7 points-per-game and and 8.3 rebounds-per-game. He is ready for the spotlight to be on him for the first time in his career and he will be opposed by Ohio State star Evan Turner. Turner leads Ohio State in every major category except for blocks. These stars will definitely be in the spotlight in New York City. It shall be interesting which star comes out on top.

Prediction:

California vs. Syracuse: California 82-74

Ohio State vs. North Carolina: North Carolina 88-76

Stanford: A College Football Team that Deserves Our Attention

On Saturday afternoon, i bet many of you were shocked when you heard that Stanford had beaten USC 55-21. When people think of Stanford, they think of bottom feeders in the PAC 10 or they look back to the days of John Elway and the classic "the band is on the field" play versus California. But now, they deserve being mentioned differently. This Stanford team lead by coach Jim Harbaugh deserves to be mentioned as one of the fastest rising teams in college football. Stanford is exciting and plays hard, physical football.

When Stanford first hired Jim Harbaugh, it got people's attention. Jim Harbaugh was a former NFL quarterback and gave Stanford a recognized head coach. Stanford struggled under Harbaugh his first two season there going 4-8 and 5-7. But now in his third season, Harbaugh seems to have turned everything around. Stanford is rolling at 7-3 and is coming off wins in consecutive weeks versus #8 Oregon and #9 USC. Stanford is now bow bow eligible and they are still in contention to go to the Rose Bowl.

There are a couple of reasons why they are playing so well. Coach Harbaugh has made Stanford a tough, blue-collar football team. The attitude change has had a very large effect on their play. They run the ball down their opponents throats led by running back Tony Gerhart. They have a good defense that is limiting opponents to 24 points-a-game. By having a good defense now, they never get far behind in games. Therefore, they do not have to change strategy on offense to get back into games. Lastly, Stanford is starting to recruit better. In 2008, Stanford signed espn.com's recruiting rankings #7 overall quarterback Andrew Luck. Andrew Luck is already the starting quarterback on the team and making a difference. Other recruits are also projected to make significant contributions in the future. The combo of these three things has made the rebuilding process go faster than expected for Stanford.

Stanford is a team that deserves our attention. They have won against great opponents on back-to-back weeks and are showing the signs of a very good team. Stanford is doing all the things that it takes for a program to get good. Right now is the time to start watching them. Because pretty soon, everyone will.

Bills Take on Titans on Sunday

On Sunday afternoon, the Buffalo Bills will go to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans. The Bills are coming off a much needed bye week and the Titans are coming off two straight wins since putting in Vince Young at quarter-back.

There are many keys for both teams this week but the main keys will decide this game. For the Bills, they need to try to stop the Chris Johnson and the Titans run game. Chris Johnson is on pace for 1900 yards this year and is averaging over six yards a carry. The second key for the Bills will be to force Vince Young to pass the ball. They should put eight men in the box till he shows that he can effectively pass against NFL secondaries. Vince Young has been decent since he returned as the starting quarter-back of the Titans but he still hasn't proved himself. The third key for the Bills is to take shots down the field against the Titans secondary. The Titans defense has been allowing a lot of deep passes this year and the Bills need to try to exploit that.

The Titans will have to protect against the Bills three keys and also execute their main keys. The first key for the Titans is to run the ball against the Bills. The Bills have one of the worst run defenses in the NFL and the Titans have one of the best run offenses in the NFL. The Tiatns should just run, run, run. The second key for the Titans should be to be blitz the Bills all game long. The Bills have a young and inexperienced offensive line and quarter-back Trent Edwards doesn't handle pressure well. The Bills will have fits if the Titans can generate pressure on them. The third and last key for the Titans is more of something they should try to avoid. Try to limit Vince Young to as little amount of pass attempts as possible. If Young is passing the ball a lot, this probably means that the Titans are not playing well and are behind. The Bills have a ball hawking secondary lead by rookie Jairus Byrd. If Young throws the ball alot, he will play right into the Bills hand.

Those keys will be vital to both teams if they want to come out on top on Sunday. This matchup just doesn't look good for the Bills. The Titans run games looks as though it will run all over the Bills on Sunday. And the Titans defense isn't a good matchup for the Bills either. The Titans weakness is their secondary but the Bills don't throw the ball down the field anyway. This game has all the making of a blowout.

Pick: Titans win 31-10

Mike's Week 10 NFL Picks

I'm am currently starting a NFL picks column that will come out on every Friday afternoon. This is my first installment of my picks. Each week, I will keep track of all the NFL games and my picks. After all games are done, I will look through my picks and find out what my record for the picks are. If you want to join me, post your picks in the comments tab below.

Matchup

Buffalo at Tennessee: Tennessee

New Orleans at St. Louis: New Orleans

Tampa Bay at Miami: Miami

Detroit at Minnesota: Minnesota

Jacksonville at New York Jets: NY Jets

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh

Denver at Washington: Denver

Atlanta at Carolina: Atlanta

Kansas City at Oakland: Oakland

Dallas at Green Bay: Dallas

Seattle at Arizona: Arizona

Philadelphia at San Diego: San Diego

New England at Indianapolis: Indianapolis

Baltimore at Cleveland: Baltimore

No pick was made for the San Francisco-Chicago game on Thursday night since all the picks were made prior to that game.

Buffalo Falls to Ohio 27-24

On Tuesday night, the UB Bulls lost to the Ohio Bobcats 27-24. The game started out very much in Ohio's favor as they jumped out to a 21-7 second quarter lead. Things looked bleak for the Bulls as they were being outperformed throughout much of the first half. But then came a crucial two minute drill for UB. Buffalo quarterback Zach Maynard threw a touchdown with three seconds left in the half to Naaman Roosevelt. Ohio then bounced back scoring first in the second half to take a 10 point lead. But the Bulls continued to fight back. Maynard threw another touchdown to Roosevelt and then the Bulls added a field goal to tie the game up at 24 point apiece with six minutes left in the fourth quarter. But Frank Solich and Ohio were not about to be stopped. Theo Scott led the Bobcats down the field as time was expiring and got them into field goal range. After not converting on third down, Matt Weller came into the game for Ohio and nailed a 47 yard field goal attempt. Buffalo still had time to go down the field to tie or take the lead in the game but failed to do so. They got as far as the Ohio 34 yard line but thats a third down pass by Zach Maynard was bobbled and then intercepted by Ohio. Ohio now moves to 7-3(5-1) in the MAC and Buffalo falls to 3-7(1-5) in the MAC. This game just came down to what team would make the big plays at the big moments of the game and that team was Ohio. While the stats didn't show it, Ohio was the better team on Tuesday night and finished on top.

TEAM STAT COMPARISON
1st Downs	17	23
3rd down efficiency	6-14	5-14
4th down efficiency	1-1	2-2
Total Yards	384	441
Passing	269	316
Comp-Att	23-29	20-44
Yards per pass	9.3	7.2
Rushing	115	125
Rushing Attempts	33	27
Yards per rush	3.5	4.6
Penalties	7-64	7-75
Turnovers	2	3
Fumbles lost	1	1
Interceptions thrown	1	2
Possession	35:33	24:27

Martin Biron: Might he Return to the Sabres?

If you go back 2.5 years to the 2006-07 NHL season, you would see Martin Biron in a Buffalo Sabres jersey as a back up goaltender behind Ryan Miller. Everyone knew that he was disappointed at not being a starting goalie in the NHL but nobody really took anything from it. People just said that was just Marty being Marty and that he'd just get over it and then get back to his old chirpy self. Marty eventually settled into his role as a back-up and then began to strive at it becoming one of the top back-ups in the entire NHL. At the same time, the Buffalo Sabres were on the top of the NHL standings and dominating teams. But that all changed on February 27, 2007 when Martin Biron was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Ty Conklin.

After that trade, the Sabres were a different team. Their soul was gone. While they still finished with a strong season, something was missing from them. They weren't as loose and they didn't have a credible back-up goalie anymore. Ty Conklin finished the year before leaving and then the Sabres brought in Jocelyn Thibault for the back-up position. The move looked good at first but became a colossal failure when Thibault stunk it up with his play. Then last year, the Sabres gave Patrick Lalime a two year contract to become the backup. Again, this move mirrored the move of signing Jocelyn Thibault. Both were veterans past their prime and didn't have as much to give. Lalime is now currently injured and Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff doesn't have enough confidence when he is healthy to play him anyway. This has caused Ryan Miller to be overplayed and tire as the season winds on.

This is where Martin Biron comes in. Biron is currently playing for the New York Islanders splitting the starting duties with Dwayne Roloson. They are currently on a rotation. The problem for the Islanders will start near the end of November. That is when Rick Dipietro returns back to the Islanders. That will then put the Islanders at three quality NHL goalies. The Islanders can't manage to keep all of them so one must leave. The logical choice is Biron. Biron has a small contract of 1 year for 1.4 million dollars so he will be easy to trade to other teams. No one will take DiPietro because of his massive contract and no one will take Roloson because he is up there in age. Speculation around the NHL says that Biron will be gone before New Years. But the question is where.

This is where the Sabres come in. The Sabres were in talks with Biron over the summer about him becoming the back-up for the Sabres again but Biron ultimately said no because he wanted to get more playing time in hopes to get a starting gig in 2010. But now with Biron on the market, the Sabres are one of the favorites for getting Biron. He would solidify the Sabres back-up goalie situation and give Miller some rest. And then the Sabres could afford to cut Lalime and send rookie goalie Enroth back to the minors. The move wouldn't be that bad for Biron either. He has a summer home in Clearance, New York and says he wouldn't mind living there full time. Biron also has a wife from Buffalo and has a lot of friends that live there. Plus, he would reunite with many former teammates.

So is Biron going to join the Sabres again? No one quite knows yet. But be on the look out. One thing for sure is that the Sabres are definitely interested in getting him if they can get him at the right price and the Islanders are definitely going to try to trade him. So he could be in Buffalo before you know it. And if that does happen, he could return that chirpiness and soul back to the Sabres and the city of Buffalo which have been missing it without him.

UB takes on OU on Tuesday Night

On Tuesday night, the UB Bulls will take on the Ohio University Bobcats. UB is 3-6 entering this game and just came off a heart breaking loss to Bowling Green. While Ohio University is 6-3 and just came off a win against Ball State. The true story of this game is how these teams are having completely opposite seasons. UB was expecting to have a good season with a possible bowl berth and Ohio was coming into this year with minor expectations. But that wasn't meant to be. Ohio has been on a roll this year due in large to their defense. They have been among the leaders in the country in take-a-ways and have been limiting opponents offense. UB on the other hand has been moving the ball at will at times against their opponents but have not been able to score or come up big at key moments. UB is losing a lot of close games and is not finishing off opponents.

On Tuesday night, i expect much of the same from these two teams. I expect UB to move the ball easily against the Ohio defense but i also expect Maynard to get picked off a couple of times. I think this will be a close game down to the end. If UB avoids making a crucial mistake at the end, I expect them to win this game by the score of 27-24. I feel that UB has more talent and is underperforming so far and that Ohio has less talent and has been playing out of its mind. We'll see on Tuesday night.